This decision impacts the operations at the lower four Snake River dams by requiring the dams to spill more water, decreasing the electrical output of the dams and estimating an increase in cost of 2-3 percent. . This scenario would call for stretching out the current federal court-ordered NEPA/EIS process, challenging the need for and benefits of additional spill for juvenile fish passage, and unquestionably supporting the 4 LSR dams as long as possible. Keeping them is just bad business. Meanwhile, the cost of PNW wind and solar energy continues its steady decline, and the owners of new power-hungry server farms (e.g. It is part of an extensive system of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.. 3; Energy load growth rates are low in the Pacific Northwest and are likely to remain low. Mainzer said he views the Snake River dams as an integral part of the federal hydropower system that produces carbon-free electricity. In 2016 those sales added just $182 million to BPA’s coffers, a decline of 48%. Columbia and Snake river dams, such as The Dalles Dam shown here, spill more water than they ever have before to help young fish move downstream to the ocean. Burdened by a 33% overhead cost not experienced by its competitors, falling demand for its product, and fish recovery requirements it cannot meet, BPA faces stark challenges. In doing so, the Corps and BPA will avoid financial and biological losses, decrease power rates for Washington, and finally put an end to a + 25 year-long debate. Some groups fighting for the survival of the Columbia–Snake River Basin’s salmon are taking a more limited approach to dam removal, asking BPA to get rid of only a select few. Kraftwerk in der Kette von insgesamt 17 Wasserkraftwerken am Snake River, einem linken Nebenfluss des Columbia Rivers.Der Snake River bildet an dieser Stelle die Grenze zwischen dem Franklin und dem Walla Walla County. In doing so, the Corps and BPA will avoid financial and biological losses, decrease power rates for Washington, and finally put an end to a + 25 year-long debate. New breakthroughs in power production and distribution over the next few years will also undoubtedly impact this situation and may inevitably sway the direction of decision-making regarding the LSR dams. Lower Snake River Dam Breach Mitigation Plan and Cost 2020.. Economic Anthology: A Collection of Works 1.28.2019. The Role of Columbia/Snake River in Providing Prey for Orcas BPA Statement: “While we recognize that Southern Resident Killer Whales utilize Columbia and Snake River stocks, they are really not the limiting prey for these species. Snake River dams produce almost as much annual average megawatts as BPA’s conservation programs have achieved in 27 years – at an investment of more than $2.3 billion: Four lower Snake River dams: . In Fig. Supporting this alternative, BPA’s Large Capital Investment Forecast FY2016-FY2035 includes major investments in Grand Coulee and McNary dam turbines, but only limited amounts for the 4 LSR dams spread over the 20-year forecast period. The status quo on the lower Snake River is no longer cast in concrete. The four Lower Snake River Dams are man-made structures with a finite lifetime. But all remaining salmon on its largest tributary, the Snake River, are facing extinction. Let’s take a closer look. BPA also recently announced a likely 2% surcharge to recover costs associated with increased “spill” ordered by a federal court to assist juvenile fish passage. They are part of the problematic aging U.S. infrastructure that requires more money for maintenance every year. Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs). Federal agencies have finalized a plan that will keep the Snake River Dams in place. It is part of an extensive system of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.. Northwest Resource Information Center’s Investigation of Waste of Federal Funds and Violations of Other Federal Laws by Bonneville Power Authority 2.26.2013 What is … The four Lower Snake River dam and reservoir projects are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite and are located in eastern Washington. . navigation). U.S. Judge Keen On Possible Dam Removal. Brad Little publicly blasted the legislative branch Friday, accusing lawmakers of “playing politics” with his coronavirus emergency declaration and threatening the lives of Idahoans. BPA administers electrical power from the Snake River dams and Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. BPA is buying silence and fealty. FOIA request of costs on the Snake from 2012 – 2019. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was created by the federal government in 1937 to market and transmit the electricity generated by the 31 dams on the Columbia River and it’s tributaries, as well as the Hanford nuclear power plant in Washington. . They are economically unsustainable now. . Its survival and ability to meet the “vast public responsibilities” to which it swears allegiance require immediate action. Now, they’re ready to sue. BPA doesn't have that analysis for the Lower Snake River dams. That 50% figure does not include further loss due to avian predation below Bonneville Dam and what fish biologists call delayed mortality caused by the cumulative impact of passage through 8 dams and reservoirs. Das Kraftwerk Lower Monumental (englisch Lower Monumental Lock and Dam) ist ein Laufwasserkraftwerk im Bundesstaat Washington, USA.Es ist das 16. 1,190 aMW Together, the four Snake River dams supply 12 percent Worse, the main reason BPA and the Army Corps of Engineers want to keep the dams is bureaucratic arrogance and pride. Final EIS Calls For Snake River Dams To Remain On Friday, the federal government released it’s Final Environmental Impact Statement regarding the four lower Snake River dams. Conservation and fishing groups say the federal government’s newest plans to manage dams and protect salmon is inadequate. 2. In the event of an extended cold snap or another power plant shutting down unexpectedly, the lower Snake dams can produce in excess of 2,650 MW of energy over a sustained period of 10 hours per day for five consecutive days. BPA’s surplus power sales in 2012 totaled $348 million. Apple) are producing their own power or purchasing it from providers outside the BPA system. An Idaho Power Company spokesperson recently referred to the PNW power surplus as an energy “glut.”. These dams and their respective reservoirs contribute significantly to the ongoing collapse of Snake River threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. Federal Decision To Keep Snake River Dams In Place Is Now Official. . After nearly 20 years of mitigation efforts and the expenditure of billions of ratepayer dollars, some Snake River wild fish runs were recently described in Idaho newspapers as being in a state of collapse and in serious jeopardy of extinction. Fitch Ratings, along with Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s one of the nation’s top three bond rating agencies, notes that at the end of FY 2015, BPA had $395 million in its power business reserves, with estimates of reserves in 2017 of just $11 million. . By early August, river flows have fallen dramatically. In the report, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and BPA called for spilling more water over the dams at strategic times to help fish migrate faster. They’re overseen by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Army Corps of Engineers, and federal Bureau of Reclamation. Here is what BPA found: 1) It will cost BPA’s ratepayers $400 million to $550 million a year to replace all the power capabilities lost through breaching the lower Snake River dams. The “legal requirements” BPA cites as another cause for its rising wholesale power price are primarily mitigation costs for the loss of fish and wildlife caused by the federal dams, including Snake River salmon and steelhead. “Many assets will also be forced to operate well beyond their design lives, posing a significant maintenance burden in the future in order to keep assets in service until their replacement dates.” For most of the LSR dam turbines, the end of turbine design life is already here. 3. we can see how hydro generation peaks to meet winter power needs and again in the spring when the snowpack melts (see the blue trace in the chart). Removal of the dams would take about 730 megawatts of energy from the carrying capability of the BPA, Paschal said. This page location is: BPA.gov - Bonneville Power Administration Dams are listed in order from headwater (Two Oceans Plateau, WY) to mouth Columbia River, WA. CREDIT: BPA . July 31, 2020. Notable as well, the forecast includes no funds for repair and rehabilitation of aging hatchery and fish passage facilities. Bonneville and the Corps are providing information on three categories: 1) Capital Hydropower Improvement Projects; 2) Columbia River Fish Mitigation (CRFM) Projects; and 3) Other Non-Power Capital Projects (e.g. Some groups fighting for the survival of the Columbia–Snake River Basin’s salmon are taking a more limited approach to dam removal, asking BPA to get rid of only a select few. Including just the dams listed below, there are 60 dams in the watershed, with 14 on the Columbia, 20 on the Snake, seven on the Kootenay, seven on the Pend Oreille/ Clark, two on the Flathead, eight on the Yakima, and two on the Owyhee. Recent below-normal temperatures have underscored the value of the Snake River dams as a Northwest power resource. They are economically unsustainable now. Shown here is the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River. (A related observation: Congressional authorization to maintain these dams, their turbines and the navigation channel, should not be seen as, and is not, a Congressional mandate.) . . In this BPA scenario, one that closely resembles current reality, the agency would continue to feed the misinformation echo chamber perpetuated by the agency’s federal partners and the special interest groups that support freight navigation, hydropower and irrigation. They point to a 2017 report from the Fish Passage Center — an independent research entity funded by BPA by law — that concluded removing four dams on the Lower Snake River, increasing spill over other dams, would lead to a fourfold increase in the number of fish. Dams provide more than 4% to BPAOne of the most confusing issues is the repeated statement the lower Snake River dams only contribute 4% to BPA’s total. In a third scenario, BPA could acknowledge the major changes occurring in the power markets, the serious aging of the LSR dams’ infrastructure, and the dramatic decline of Snake River salmon and steelhead with no meaningful progress toward the recovery of threatened and endangered species. What is … Reputable studies have concluded that the biggest factor in the continued decline of Snake River salmon and steelhead is the hydroelectric system of dams. In 2007, BPA had financial reserves of $917 million. The Columbia River Basin was once among the greatest salmon-producing river systems in the world.. . Almost all industries that once used the LSR for freight transportation have abandoned the river, and freight volumes have declined by over 50%. It’s simply a matter of time before the federal agencies admit it. Anlage in der Kette von insgesamt 18 Stauanlagen und Wasserkraftwerken am Snake River, einem linken Nebenfluss des Columbia Rivers.Der Snake River bildet an dieser Stelle die Grenze zwischen dem Garfield und dem Whitman County. For example, according to a recent report from the Fish Passage Center, the return of the lower Snake to a more natural flow through dam breaching, combined with increased spill at the lowest four dams on the Columbia, would result in a four-fold (400%) increase in adult salmon reaching Idaho. Snake River dams produce almost as much annual average megawatts as BPA’s conservation programs have achieved in 27 years — at an investment of more than $2.3 billion: Four lower Snake River dams: . Such a plan would also logically call for a financial commitment to the timely rehabilitation of all 24 LSR turbines—as noted above, a huge, long-term ratepayer-funded financial commitment. 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