Dam Upgrade Provides Energy Efficiency

Upgrade Hydroelectric Dam and Get More Juice

by Don Ames

Upgrade a Dam and Get More Juice – everything is connected when it comes to saving energy at home.

The Dams on the Columbia River have been providing fairly low cost electricity for years. The problem is, even a Dam gets old. The Chief Joseph Dam is going to get a new 45 ton turbine which will up it’s capacity by 30,000 homes. (I wonder if the Chief was alive today, whether he would like having a dam named after him.) The Chief’s Dam is the second largest electricity producing dam in the country right behind the Grand Coulee Dam which also uses Columbia River water to spin turbines.

Work is just wrapping up on the Coulee as 18 turbines have been upgraded there.

Here’s a couple more interesting facts:

There is no fish passage beyond Chief Joseph Dam (now I know the Chief would not want his name attached to this dam.) The Bonneville Power Administration has been working with area Native American tribes to improve fish passage and habitat issues. Unfortunately the Native Americans really don’t have a very big fish in this fight. My guess is, little will be done and it will take a long time. BPA has a lot of practice putting the fish second.

Also, these massive hydroelectric dams are important to the development of alternative energy sources such as massive wind power. Wind power is not a constant ( come to think of it, solar power is not a constant either). Wind blows and wind turbines provide much electricity, wind does not blow, wind turbines do not produce electricity. This intermittent supply of wind power can stress the grid and cause delivery problems. The hydro dams are needed to work with the wind power to keep the grid working. Wind power may keep us from building another dam, but wind power will not provide the opportunity to take out a dam.