FEDERAL AGENCIES ANNOUNCE TWO NEW ANALYESE FOR SALMON RECOVERY AND ENERGY NEEDS

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) released two reports resulting from a continued interagency initiative to restore salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River Basin, while meeting state and Federal clean energy goals. NOAA’s report asses breaching the Lower Snake River Dams to recover salmon and steelhead in the basin and BPA’s study addresses the cost to replace clean renewable hydroelectric power for the Western Grid Group which includes business and communities from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico.  NOAA’s report, “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead,” was prepared with input from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Oregon. Both the Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Oregon are plaintiffs in the litigation on the last federal bi-op.  BPA’s study on potential power portfolios presents a range of power production scenarios and costs associated with replacing the electrical power from four Federal dams on the Lower Snake River in the event Congress were to authorize such an action. The study, titled “BPA Lower Snake River Dams Power Replacement Study,” is intended to inform ongoing regional conversations about long-term strategies for providing affordable and carbon free electricity in the region. The study finds that replacing the energy and grid services would cost $11 billion to $19 billion. The annual replacement cost would range from $415 million to $860 million by 2045. Households would bear a substantial energy cost as dam breaching will increase rates for public power ranging from $100 – $230 per year. Replacement becomes more costly over time due to increasingly stringent clean energy standards and electrification-driven load growth.