A $700 million upgrade is coming to Energy Northwest’s nuclear-powered Columbia Generating Station to produce enough additional energy to power 125,000 homes under a new deal with the Bonneville Power Administration. 

BPA has given final approval to an extended power uprate, or EPU, project with the public power cooperative, according to a release.  

The 1,207-megawatt nuclear power station near Richland is the region’s third largest energy generation source and the improvements will add 162 megawatts to its current power output by 2031. 

“This is a great value for ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest,” said John Hairston, BPA’s administrator and CEO, in a statement. “Upgrading an existing resource to provide additional reliable energy will help BPA keep pace with its customers’ growing electricity needs and keep rates low.” 

BPA’s approval follows 18 months of in-depth analysis of the project. The federal agency will now work with Energy Northwest over the coming six years to plan and carry out the necessary work. It’s anticipated that most of the project will coincide with biennial refueling outages, creating new job opportunities for skilled workers. 

“We applaud BPA for its decision to approve this project and for its strategic vision in advancing our region’s future with additional, reliable capacity that nuclear energy can provide,” said Bob Schuetz, Energy Northwest CEO, in a statement. “Their leadership in supporting this initiative underscores a commitment to affordable and carbon-free electricity for the Northwest region, including our public power member utilities and their customers.” 

Planned improvements include equipment upgrades affecting 30 individual components, ranging from turbines, heat exchangers and the generator itself, along with increasing the size of motors and pumps. 

Additionally, 24 megawatts of energy-efficiency upgrades will be incorporated during the next three refueling outages in 2027, 2029 and 2031, bringing the total increase to 186 megawatts. This expanded capacity will be added to BPA’s federal system power, serving consumer-owned utilities across six Northwest states. 

Energy Northwest is also working on a separate initiative with X-energy to deploy nuclear reactors near the Columbia Generating Station. 

Demand for energy in the Mid-Columbia continues to climb significantly in the coming years, and only in part because of population growth. Companies tied to artificial intelligence technology are eyeing the region for their energy-hungry data centers.