Standing before Ice Harbor Dam, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright reaffirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to “energy abundance” on Dec. 4, pledging continued support for the operation of Ice Harbor and other dams that power the Pacific Northwest.
Five transportation projects for sidewalks, overlays and road construction across the Mid-Columbia region will receive nearly $6 million from a state agency.
The developer planning a wind farm in the Horse Heaven Hills had already intended to scale back the number of turbines before the state recently restricted the project over nesting concerns for endangered ferruginous hawks. The revised plan now calls for fewer turbines, but ones that are taller, with larger blades, and potentially located closer to the Tri-Cities.
A recent report from a council of state agencies leading Washington’s transition to clean energy points to a growing concern beyond generating clean power: being able to move it around the state.
The planned construction and powering of four initial small modular reactors north of Richland is still years away, but the company behind their design is moving to ensure they have the advanced fuel they’ll need.