Three years ago, Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray hatched a stealth billion-dollar plot to breach the four lower Snake River dams. Other expenses, between $10 and $27 billion, were excluded and their plan assumes “carbon free” (CO2) replacement power is available.

Recently, President Donald Trump’s executive order stops federal agencies participation in the concoction advanced by Biden. The new directive was an action central Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse welcomes. Newhouse has been an outspoken critic of the Murray, Inslee and Biden scheme.

“The White House had secretly negotiated the settlement without the knowledge or input of the U.S. Congress, 120 electric utility companies, at least five impacted states, 38 federally-recognized tribes and 3 million U.S. energy customers,” Modern Electric Water Company (Modern) reported in December 2023.

Modern, a Spokane Valley customer-owned, not-for-profit electric and water utility formed in 1905, further estimated Pacific Northwest energy ratepayers (customers of the Bonneville Power Administration) have funded more than $7.6 billion in fish and wildlife protection since 1981. Those improvements to the four dams would be scrapped. Our money would be wasted.

A key reason Trump foiled the scheme is money – specifically our soaring national debt.  

Over the past 60 years, every U.S. president has run a record budget deficit including Trump, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Today, our national debt approaches $37 trillion, meaning every American owes $108,000 if debtors call for repayment. Unfortunately, the cost per taxpayer is now $324,000.

That is a significant amount of taxpayer and ratepayer money. Politicians cannot continue to toss around trillion-dollar spending programs like horseshoes at a church picnic.

Murray and Biden hang their hats on solar and wind replacement power. Along with the enormous costs, it would be extremely hard to site industrial-size wind and solar projects – the size required to supplant lower Snake River hydropower.

Wall Street Journal reporter Jim Carlton hit the nail on the head in 2022 when he wrote: “Slated to be the biggest solar plant in the U.S., the Battle Born Solar Project by California-based Arevia Power, would carpet 14 square miles – the equivalent of 7,000 football fields – with more than a million solar panels 10 to 20 feet tall.”

“These large projects are increasingly drawing opposition from environmental activists and residents who say they are ardent supporters of clean energy. Their objections range from a desire to keep the land unspoiled to protection for endangered species to concerns that their views would no longer be as beautiful,” Carlton added.

For example, the proposed Lund Hill Solar Farm would be the largest in Washington covering 1,800 acres in Klickitat County near the Columbia River Gorge. It is grazing land managed by our Department of Natural Resources.  

The project would cost more than $100 million and generate up to 193 megawatts of intermittent electricity. Using the calculation that 1 megawatt of solar power supplies 190 homes, Lund Hill would service 37,000 homes.

The same goes for wind farms.

Consider the opposition to the Horse Heaven Hills wind project planned by Scout Clean Energy which would stretch along 24 miles of ridgeline from south of the Tri-Cities in Finley to Benton City. Many of the 244 spinning wind machines would be higher than Seattle’s Space Needle (605 feet). The heights range from 500 to 671 feet. Although Inslee approved the project, it is still under appeal.

Solar and wind power must be part of the path toward reducing carbon emissions. However, permitting large industrial size power farms is contentious.

The incomprehensible challenge is how to generate enough greenhouse gas-free electricity for our growing demands without nuclear power production and by taking out major hydropower projects such as the four lower Snake River dams.

With strong salmon returns over the last two years, there are better ways to restore fish habitat.

Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. You can contact him at [email protected].