The Columbia River pours through the Bonneville Dam spillway in August. A new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory indicates climate change may increase hydropower generation. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian files)
Climate change will cause existing hydroelectric dams to generate more power in the Pacific Northwest and around the lower 48 states in the coming decades. That’s according to projections from an August study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The study looked at how the changing climate will impact weather, and then how that in turn will impact hydroelectric generation between 2020 and 2059 — a period when regional electricity demand is projected to grow.
