Last month, Energy Northwest and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced the approval of a $700 million project proposal to increase the output of the Columbia Generation Station nuclear facility, which is the region’s third largest generating resource and only operating nuclear energy plant. This project will help strengthen the Pacific Northwest’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. The Extended Power Uprate project (EPU) will increase the station’s electrical output by 162 megawatts.
Over the next six years, Energy Northwest and BPA will collaborate on planning and implementation. Once completed in 2031, the additional 162 megawatts of firm capacity could power approximately 125,000 homes, strengthening the Pacific Northwest’s energy portfolio.
“This is a great value for ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest,” said John Hairston, BPA administrator and CEO. “Upgrading an existing resource to provide additional reliable energy will help BPA keep pace with its customers’ growing electricity needs and keep rates low.”
The project will involve approximately 30 individual upgrades, primarily focused on increasing the size of pumps and motors. These enhancements coincide with biennial refueling outages, creating new job opportunities for skilled workers. Alongside the EPU, energy efficiency upgrades incorporated during the next three refueling outages in 2027, 2029 and 2031 are expected to add 24 megawatts of output capacity, 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.
Read more about the project here: