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Lighting Upgrades at Dam Cut Energy Use in Half by Christine Pratt The Wenatchee World, February 4, 2011

GRAND COULEE -- New energy-efficient lighting at Grand Coulee Dam has freed up enough electricity to power every television in the country during this weekend's Super Bowl, the Bonneville Power Administration reported in a news release Wednesday.

Officials at the nation's largest dam have replaced 10,000 lamps in the powerhouses, tunnels, pit areas, shops and bays with high-performance, energy-saving fluorescent and LED lighting.

The $1.2 million lamp replacement freed up nearly 9 million kilowatts of electricity -- enough to keep TVs glowing during Sunday's Super Bowl, the news release said.

The Environmental Protection Agency recognized the retrofit Tuesday with its 2010 Champions of Environmental Leadership and Green Government Award, the news release said.

BPA officials said that if every household in the Northwest replaced a few light bulbs with energy-efficient lamps, the collective savings would be 100 times greater than the dam's savings.