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Released July 28, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. is experiencing one of the hottest summers in recent memory, with wildfires and extreme heat hitting record levels across the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, and central Washington state hit record highs toward the end of June, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), while temperatures in Boise, Idaho, were just shy of record levels. But power generators remain cautiously optimistic the stunning heat will not disrupt most of the region's power supply. Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.5 billion worth of power-generation projects under construction in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, more than $620 million of which is attributed to hydropower projects.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing power-generation projects under construction in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, by fuel type.
More than 46% of terrain in the lower 48 U.S. states are experiencing drought this week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including more than 93% of the West. But the Pacific Northwest rarely sees such sustained levels of extreme heat. A drought emergency was declared for much of Washington state on July 14; although the large cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett were excluded, much of Washington's eastern half remained under "exceptional" drought conditions, which the U.S. Drought Monitor describes as the most severe category. More than half of the state landed in the three worst categories: "severe," "extreme" and "exceptional."
One of the energy sources most threatened by the drought is hydropower, as low water levels in reservoirs can reduce the energy generated by hydroelectric dams. Most of the Pacific Northwest has avoided widespread power outages, but utilities have been urging customers to reduce their energy consumption as skyrocketing demand for air conditioning and other cooling services has stressed the grid. Water levels on some parts of the Columbia River, which traverses southward along eastern Washington and then runs westward along the state's border with Oregon to the ocean, have been below average.
Despite these far-worse-than-usual conditions, U.S. states in the Pacific Northwest are not expected to see the sustained power shortages facing California and Nevada, partly due to the Western Interconnection power grid's transmission and distribution (T&D) of hydroelectric-generated energy. The Columbia River is home to the Priest Rapids Hydro Power Station in south-central Washington, which has been undergoing a series of upgrades and overhauls since 2016. The Grant County Public Utility District is at work on turbine replacements, stator rewinds and governor upgrades on its 10 units, which generate 955 megawatts (MW) in total. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read more details in Industrial Info's project reports for the replacement, rewind and upgrade projects.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is at work on a series of improvement projects at hydroelectric facilities across the region, including a switchgear upgrade at the Lower Granite Hydropower Station in Colfax, Washington, and a crane refurbishment at the McNary Hydropower Station in Umatilla, Oregon; similarly, IDACORP Incorporated (Boise, Idaho) is at work on a spillway refurbishment at its hydropower station in American Falls, Idaho. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's reports on the Washington, Oregon and Idaho projects.
In a July 26 letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, members of Congress from the Pacific Northwest requested expanded federal aid for farmers in the region. Growers in drought-designated areas--14 of which were recently added in Washington state--are generally eligible for emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if they have seen crop losses of at least 30% or other livestock or property damage, according to Washington newspaper The Columbian.
One of Idaho's biggest crops is sugar beets, for which it trails only Minnesota in production among U.S. states. Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC (Boise, Idaho), which grows most of the sugar beets for its White Satin brand in Idaho, is among the food producers that generate most of the power consumed at their plants. Amalgamated's beet sugar mill in Nampa, is home to a clarifier upgrade and the addition of a wastewater treatment anaerobic digester, while the company also is performing flow upgrades to a granulator at its beet sugar plant in Paul. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed reports on the clarifier, wastewater treatment and granulator projects.
In addition to nearly $9 billion worth of renewable-generation projects, Oregon is home to several battery energy-storage system (BESS) developments, include NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) $36 million BESS addition at its Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Echo, which will support a 50-MW solar farm, and Portland General Electric Company's (NYSE:POR) (Portland, Oregon) $9 million BESS addition at its Port Westward Generating Plant in Clatskanie, which is nearing completion. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's reports on the Wheatridge and Port Westward projects.
Renewable projects such as the Wheatridge solar facility have been driving much of the industrial development in Oregon. For more information, see July 27, 2021, article - Renewable Energy, Semiconductors Take Lead in Oregon's $20.5 Billion in Active Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing power-generation projects under construction in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, by fuel type.More than 46% of terrain in the lower 48 U.S. states are experiencing drought this week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including more than 93% of the West. But the Pacific Northwest rarely sees such sustained levels of extreme heat. A drought emergency was declared for much of Washington state on July 14; although the large cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett were excluded, much of Washington's eastern half remained under "exceptional" drought conditions, which the U.S. Drought Monitor describes as the most severe category. More than half of the state landed in the three worst categories: "severe," "extreme" and "exceptional."
One of the energy sources most threatened by the drought is hydropower, as low water levels in reservoirs can reduce the energy generated by hydroelectric dams. Most of the Pacific Northwest has avoided widespread power outages, but utilities have been urging customers to reduce their energy consumption as skyrocketing demand for air conditioning and other cooling services has stressed the grid. Water levels on some parts of the Columbia River, which traverses southward along eastern Washington and then runs westward along the state's border with Oregon to the ocean, have been below average.
Despite these far-worse-than-usual conditions, U.S. states in the Pacific Northwest are not expected to see the sustained power shortages facing California and Nevada, partly due to the Western Interconnection power grid's transmission and distribution (T&D) of hydroelectric-generated energy. The Columbia River is home to the Priest Rapids Hydro Power Station in south-central Washington, which has been undergoing a series of upgrades and overhauls since 2016. The Grant County Public Utility District is at work on turbine replacements, stator rewinds and governor upgrades on its 10 units, which generate 955 megawatts (MW) in total. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read more details in Industrial Info's project reports for the replacement, rewind and upgrade projects.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is at work on a series of improvement projects at hydroelectric facilities across the region, including a switchgear upgrade at the Lower Granite Hydropower Station in Colfax, Washington, and a crane refurbishment at the McNary Hydropower Station in Umatilla, Oregon; similarly, IDACORP Incorporated (Boise, Idaho) is at work on a spillway refurbishment at its hydropower station in American Falls, Idaho. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's reports on the Washington, Oregon and Idaho projects.
In a July 26 letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, members of Congress from the Pacific Northwest requested expanded federal aid for farmers in the region. Growers in drought-designated areas--14 of which were recently added in Washington state--are generally eligible for emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if they have seen crop losses of at least 30% or other livestock or property damage, according to Washington newspaper The Columbian.
One of Idaho's biggest crops is sugar beets, for which it trails only Minnesota in production among U.S. states. Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC (Boise, Idaho), which grows most of the sugar beets for its White Satin brand in Idaho, is among the food producers that generate most of the power consumed at their plants. Amalgamated's beet sugar mill in Nampa, is home to a clarifier upgrade and the addition of a wastewater treatment anaerobic digester, while the company also is performing flow upgrades to a granulator at its beet sugar plant in Paul. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed reports on the clarifier, wastewater treatment and granulator projects.
In addition to nearly $9 billion worth of renewable-generation projects, Oregon is home to several battery energy-storage system (BESS) developments, include NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) $36 million BESS addition at its Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Echo, which will support a 50-MW solar farm, and Portland General Electric Company's (NYSE:POR) (Portland, Oregon) $9 million BESS addition at its Port Westward Generating Plant in Clatskanie, which is nearing completion. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's reports on the Wheatridge and Port Westward projects.
Renewable projects such as the Wheatridge solar facility have been driving much of the industrial development in Oregon. For more information, see July 27, 2021, article - Renewable Energy, Semiconductors Take Lead in Oregon's $20.5 Billion in Active Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
