Slide background

News

Save Our Wild Salmon

BY ROCKY BARKER

rbarker@idahostatesman.com

IMG_ice_harbor_15_1_UVBU3Q5C_L333157189.jpeg

Federal agencies can breach four Snake River dams to help salmon and still have a more reliable energy system with lower costs — if the dams are replaced with changes in consumer behavior and more renewable energy, a new study concludes.

The study was commissioned by the NW Energy Coalition, an advocacy group for energy efficiency, renewable energy and low-income energy users, and conducted by Energy Strategies, a Utah-based energy consulting firm. It used the Bonneville Power Administration’s own numbers to determine the changes could save BPA money and make its system more reliable for its customers. The BPA markets $3 billion worth of electric power for use by 10 million people across the Pacific Northwest.

The four dams in question sit along the lower Snake in Washington state. Fisheries biologists ranging from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to the National Marine Fisheries Services say endangered Snake River salmon would have a better chance of survival if the dams were removed. The question has been whether the region’s power grid could still meet demand during peak energy use times and still effectively back up solar and wind plants without the four dams...

Read on at The Idaho Statesman 

Share This