Matthew Hepner is executive director, Certified Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Weather-related blackouts in Texas earlier this year and the
rolling blackouts in California last year are further reminders of how fragile
our power grids can be.
As utilities go through the process of planning to comply
with Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) we must acknowledge we
have the same vulnerabilities here. Washington utilities therefore must include
robust carbon-free energy infrastructure in their energy portfolios.
Washington state led the nation when Gov. Jay Inslee signed
CETA in 2019. This groundbreaking legislation requires that our state’s
utilities supply Washingtonians with 100% clean carbon-free power by 2045.
Now our region’s utilities like Puget Sound Energy have just
gone through the process of developing integrated resource plans (IRP) that
involve planning how to remove global greenhouse gas emitting energy sources
from their portfolios and replace them with carbon-free sources of power for
utility customers. This is a daunting task and we all must support the
utilities as they work through this very complex and unprecedented process. In
turn, the utilities must properly consider all available technology to supply
Washingtonians with the affordable clean power we need.
One important mature technology in the Puget Sound Energy
IRP process is closed-loop pumped storage. The proposed Goldendale Energy
Storage Project in Klickitat County relies on this established carbon-free
technology and would provide our region with the needed energy storage
resources that will be essential in complying with CETA.
The Goldendale Project will generate 1,200 megawatts of
clean electricity while also storing the region’s abundant wind and solar
electricity to use when it is needed. The Goldendale Energy Storage Project is
a “closed-loop” pumped hydro storage facility with an upper and lower reservoir
where water is recirculated between the two reservoirs. During times of peak
sun and/or high winds the plant uses surplus energy to pump water from the
lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. Then, during peak demand hours, the
water is returned by gravity to the lower reservoir passing through turbine
generators that generate electricity.
Closed-loop projects like the Goldendale project are
carbon-free with minimal environmental impact. Also, the recent blackouts in
California and Texas underscore the importance of large-scale energy storage
projects like the Goldendale Energy Storage Project in maintaining a reliable
electric grid.
This project also makes good economic sense.
It will create more than 3,000 family-wage jobs during its
four-year construction period, and another 50 to 70 permanent jobs. Also,
because the size and duration of the construction of the project it is an
important opportunity for the building trades to add to our nation’s critically
important skilled and technically trained workforce by training union
apprentices.
As our skilled workforce ages out, the building trades look
for large projects that cover the 4- to 5-year duration of apprenticeship
training programs. The Goldendale Project will also give those in the Gorge and
surrounding rural areas an opportunity to enter these union training programs
to be certified for a living-wage career.
Finally, the Goldendale project aligns perfectly with the
Biden administration’s focus on climate change and clean energy. The Goldendale
Project will help the U.S. achieve broader goals like the emissions reductions
included in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Washington state is leading the nation through meaningful steps
to address climate change. We all must work together to support the utilities
as they work through finding solutions that will provide carbon-free affordable
power. And the utilities must properly consider reliable technology like the
Goldendale Storage Project to supply their customers with the power we need.
