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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
An April 9 report released by San Francisco-based consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics sounds the alarm: Washington state is dangerously short of electricity generation to meet aggressive climate goals. The report commissioned by some of the state’s largest utilities shows that the region faces a resource adequacy need of nine gigawatts by 2030, and 14 to 18 gigawatts before 2035.
This unprecedented buildout of capacity has never been achieved in the short time frames of Washington’s climate laws. But underneath the warnings is the assumption that this must be met with intermittent wind and solar power, where inefficient resources will supply our advanced economy, post artificial intelligence.
The report discounts hydropower as a reliable renewable source of energy. Aligning energy with our watershed could be the most affordable and practical solution to meet the expected need while shoring up the weaknesses of wind and solar.
As the ranking Republican on the House Environment and Energy Committee, I plan to seek changes that will optimize our hydropower system and align it with renewables so that we can meet the demand for power. Please read on to rethink our most valuable energy resource: Water.
Finally, due to upcoming election-year restrictions, this will be my last email update to you until after the November general election is certified.
An optimized hydro system would be sufficient to meet future NW power needs, despite energy report.
The Energy Class is all abuzz over the recent release of the “Resource Adequacy and the Energy Transition in the Pacific Northwest” report by Energy Consultants “E3.” The report highlights a significant shortfall of dependable, reliable energy sources as Washington state aggressively transforms its electricity production from a predominantly hydropower-supplied grid to one that adds intermittent sources such as wind and solar.
The high-profile study of the NW Energy Grid shows that state agency officials are downplaying the risk and ignoring the policy tension between decarbonization and the need for natural gas. The report takes a hard look at whether the Pacific Northwest system can keep up with demand under current policies, and its conclusions are far more serious than the agency summaries would suggest.
Load growth and continued retirements create a resource gap that reaches 9 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 14–18 GW by 2035. By comparison, peak electric generation development occurred between 1975 and 1979, when Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming collectively added 2.2 GW of capacity, mostly coal and hydropower. The 10-year peak sustained build rate of 2 GW of nameplate capacity was 15% lower than what is needed today.
The E3 study rightly concludes that there are “significant institutional barriers to accelerating build rates…” referencing obstacles to transmission, siting and permitting and policy prohibitions. Notably, the study states that “Existing clean resources do not contribute significantly to resource adequacy, and ‘clean firm’ options are not yet commercially available,” meaning small modular nuclear reactors are in the pilot project phase. The dominant assumption is that affordable hydropower has no more capacity and renewables are a like-kind replacement.
Hydropower continues to be discounted as a renewable source largely due to conflicts over endangered species, which to date seem destined for prolonged court battles that deeply affect grid reliability and the overall resilience of our electricity, which has historically been abundant and affordable.
Arne Olson, Senior Partner of E3, indicated that the reasons for the headline-worthy numbers are that the report assumes wind and solar would replace legacy fossil-fuel electricity generation. “It requires about five to seven times as many megawatts to replace a firm resource with wind, solar and batteries,” he said. He did not suggest the replacement should include improvements to existing hydropower facilities.
It is worth noting that the visionaries of the Greatest Generation knew our region would grow and prosper and would eventually need more electricity. The dams were built to house additional generators; the irrigation project includes not-yet-fully-utilized reversible pump-generators at Grand Coulee Dam. Dams are an ecosystem of energy opportunity to stabilize power needs, firm the intermittent wind and solar, and make our grid better aligned.
Rather than treating hydropower as a legacy system to be constrained, we should recognize it as the foundational asset that can anchor a reliable, affordable, and balanced modern grid. To meet the challenge of our time, optimized hydropower could be transformative in achieving emissions goals.
Our generation’s visionaries must reevaluate significant institutional barriers, outdated regulatory assumptions, and policy prohibitions that prevent the region from fully utilizing its most strategic energy assets. The true opportunity is not to dismantle the backbone of the Northwest grid, but to modernize and optimize the very system that made regional prosperity possible.
Celebration as capital budget funding provides for Pataha Flour Mill renovation
As a member of the House Capital Budget Committee, I was proud to be a part of a very meaningful project in Pomeroy that preserves local history while improving accessibility for the community. The Pataha Flour Mill recently celebrated the completion of major upgrades, including a new staircase, a wheelchair lift, and a buggy path connecting the mill to the Garfield County Fairgrounds. These improvements were made possible in part by a $250,000 investment from the state capital budget that I worked on delivering for this project. It was an honor to join community members, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, and local leaders at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Click below to read our 2026 Session Review
Election-year restrictions prohibit certain communications through the end of the year
Due to the election-year “freeze,” which begins Monday, May 4 and continues until late November, this is my last email update to you until the end of the year. This freeze means I am not allowed to use public resources to provide unsolicited outreach communications to you, such as this email update.
It’s important to note that this restriction does not prevent me from responding to your emails, phone calls, and messages. I’m also not restricted from having in-person meetings with you, so please continue to reach out to me. Your input remains important. You will find my contact information below.
It is an honor to serve and represent you in the 9th District.
Sincerely,
Mary Dye
