Take action: Align BPA with Biden’s clean energy & salmon restoration goals!

Over the last two years the Northwest has made crucial progress towards replacing the services of the lower Snake River dams. Once replacement is complete, the river can be restored for salmon recovery and the numerous communities that rely on salmon. This past summer was a pivotal one with several noteworthy developments: 

• The Biden Administration committed to the “development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels.”  
• Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee released recommendations that put the Northwest on a path to restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River as a centerpiece of salmon recovery efforts. The recommendations were accompanied by a report determining that replacement of the dams’ services is feasible and affordable.  
• The NW Energy Coalition commissioned Energy Strategies to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of replacing the power from lower Snake River hydropower. The study confirmed that replacing lower Snake River hydropower is doable, coast-effective, and will better meet the region’s energy needs. 

The Biden Administration and Northwest elected leaders are stepping up to break a decades-long gridlock and develop real solutions. However, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) – the agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) that markets the power from the lower Snake River dams’ – is ignoring the current Administration’s goals.  

BPA needs to join the team. Replacing the power from the lower Snake River dams is a hefty – but doable – task that will be made much easier with the full support of BPA.  

Please email USDOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm (the.secretary@hq.doe.gov) and ask that she ensure BPA aligns with the rest of the Biden Administration, many Northwest Members of Congress, Governor Inslee and Governor Brown, and community stakeholders on Snake River restoration. Below is a template email for you to work off of. 

Subject line: Align BPA with Biden Administration clean energy & salmon restoration goals! 

“Dear Secretary Granholm, 

Thank you for your ongoing dedication and leadership to clean energy and restoring Snake River salmon. 

Our Northwest salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction. The greatest opportunity we have to prevent extinction and restore abundance is to replace the services of the four lower Snake River dams and remove them. We can do this while improving our energy system, creating a system that will meet the Northwest’s future needs. 

As you know, the Biden Administration has made a bold commitment to develop “a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels,” and the recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report has identified dam removal as an urgently needed “centerpiece action” for salmon and steelhead restoration. Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee concluded their in-depth process which confirms the importance of breaching the dams along with a report showing replacing their services with clean energy resources is feasible and affordable.  

But the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) continues to resist progress toward achieving a comprehensive regional plan that will restore a free-flowing lower Snake River, and it refuses to recognize the numerous environmental, energy, and economic benefits this would bring.  

It’s time for BPA to get on board with the Biden Administration’s goals and to act now so we can restore a free-flowing lower Snake River this decade, including enhancements of electricity transmission and grid services that will clean up the region’s power grid and help modernize the hydroelectric system. 

Sincerely,  

[Your name]”

If you have any questions or would like support, please email chris@nwenergy.org