Exclusive: Hydropower leads the way in energy infrastructure

With a unified Republican federal government, my colleagues and I in Congress and in the Trump administration are working to strengthen America’s energy infrastructure and achieve energy dominance. Every energy source across the sector is key in achieving this goal, but my district in central Washington is home to a vital piece of infrastructure in that mix: hydroelectric dams.

As a proven energy source providing affordable power for over 30 million Americans, hydropower sustains low rates, even in times of high demand. Grids operate on a meticulous balance between production and usage, and hydropower’s ability to respond to rapid changes in demand, and even store water for emergency use, makes it a necessity for places like the Pacific Northwest.

We are fortunate to have the benefits of hydropower from the four Lower Snake River dams that keep our grid secure during high-demand periods. Dams provide the Pacific Northwest with nearly 90% of its renewable energy and support transportation, flood control, agriculture, and recreational activities in the region. The dams along the Snake River allow the town of Lewiston, Idaho, to be the most inland seaport city on the West Coast, through barge traffic that serves as a vital point of commerce in the region.

Over 55% of all U.S. wheat is exported through the Columbia and Snake River system, making it the largest grain export gateway in the world. The system sees around 1,400 ships arrive annually, carrying 35,000 gross tons of products, and the cruise industry feeds over 30,000 cruise ship passengers through the system every year.

However, the previous administration launched a tirade of attacks on our dams with constant attempts to breach these critical pieces of infrastructure by citing salmon survival rates during runs as their motive. The reality is that salmon and dams can and do coexist, and we have seen very positive upward trends for many species of salmon. We are committed to the hard work of improved, viable salmon runs, but destroying our most reliable source of energy is not the solution.

Fortunately, our efforts to protect the dams have remained successful with public and stakeholder support for them on our side. That is why I have introduced the Northwest Energy Security Act to ensure the Lower Snake River dams remain operational and intact. As expensive and politically driven Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) have targeted dams over the years, this legislation would codify that the government will operate under the 2020 Columbia River System Operations EIS that found the dams should not be breached.

I recently introduced the Defending our Dams Act to prohibit federal funds from being used for the breaching, studying of breaching, or altering of the Lower Snake River dams. I also led the Protecting Our Water Energy Resources (POWER) Act to prohibit the Department of Interior and the United States Army Corps of Engineers from retiring an energy source if that retirement would raise customer electricity rates and decrease regional energy reliability by more than 5%.

U.S. electricity demand is forecast to increase 16% by 2029, meaning we must expand generation and capacity immediately. Washington state’s population alone is projected to increase by one million people in the next decade, emphasizing the need for more baseload energy. Hydroelectric dams are vital pieces of infrastructure that support our way of life, and I am working to support infrastructure that contributes to America’s goal of energy dominance that will sustain communities across the nation for decades to come.