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BPA Pitches $3 Billion More in Northwest Energy Grid Upgrades by Conrad Swanson Seattle Times, October 17, 2024

The Bonneville Power Administration is doubling down on its multibillion-dollar mission to build out transmission lines across the Northwest, a crucial component of the energy transition in the years ahead.

The federal agency released this week a list of 13 new projects covering hundreds of miles at an estimated cost of $3 billion, piling on top of the $2 billion worth of work it announced last summer.

The latest projects announced include rebuilding existing transmission lines from north-central Washington across the Cascades and into Olympia, and another line cutting through central Oregon all the way south to the Nevada border. Another series of shorter upgrades would expand, upgrade and build new infrastructure around Portland and Salem.

Think of transmission lines as a highway. Expanding the road would allow the federal energy wholesaler to move more cars (electricity) to the places where need is the greatest and with greater efficiency. In some places, the proposal would nearly double the capacity of existing transmission lines.

Administration officials are building momentum with the latest proposal, tapping deeper into their recently expanded borrowing authority, which came from an amendment to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law championed by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The senator praised the next phase of transmission work.

"Bringing more affordable clean power online is the key to holding down electricity costs," Cantwell said in a news release. "These investments will not only create thousands of construction jobs, they will help revitalize our Pacific Northwest grid so we can take advantage of countless manufacturing, electrification, and emission reduction opportunities."

Washington's demand for electricity could grow by a fifth by 2030 and nearly double by 2050. Without massive investment in transmission upgrades, new power sources and battery storage across the grid, the state's long-standing and reliable energy system could falter when people need electricity the most. Winter and summer demand surges could outpace supply by next decade, a collection of public and private utilities predicted this year.

Not only will these projects help Bonneville tap into existing renewable energy projects but they might also pave the way for new ones in the future, said Nancy Hirsh, executive director of the Northwest Energy Coalition.

The cross-Cascades lines could bring wind energy from Montana to Western Washington, Hirsh said. And the central Oregon upgrades could connect to solar farms down south.

A diverse cross-section of renewable energy projects across the region can ensure that when one area faces a lull in sunshine or wind, another area can compensate.

Bonneville's 13 latest projects aren't yet finalized, said spokesperson Maryam Habibi. Over the next year, they'll undergo a scoping, design and environmental review process before crews can break ground. Once construction does begin, much of the work can be expected to last into the 2030s, she said.