Growing Support for Hydropower as Renewable, Most Practical Energy Resource for the Pacific Northwest

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Submitted by Mason County PUD No. 3

On Earth Day especially, it’s important to recognize that the Northwest is a unique region where hydropower provides 90 percent of our renewable energy and keeps the air clean. New poll results show a growing awareness of hydro’s benefits to the region’s environment and economy.

When asked, 3 out of 4 Northwest residents identified hydropower as a clean, renewable energy resource. Moreover, a majority of residents (54 percent) consider hydropower to be the region’s most practical energy resource right now. Wind energy comes in at a distant second at 15 percent, with solar energy finishing third at 6 percent, according to the poll conducted by Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall (DHM Research) for Northwest RiverPartners.

“Wind and solar energy tend to get more attention, but Northwest residents need to know that hydro is what keeps the lights on,” said Terry Flores, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners. “Earth Day reminds us that clean, renewable hydropower is the Northwest’s special legacy and the reason our carbon footprint is half that of other parts of the nation.”

The 75 percent of Northwest residents who identify hydropower as clean, renewable energy is a slight increase from early 2013, when DHM conducted a similar poll. The percentage who views hydropower as the most practical resource also increased, from 47 to 54 percent of respondents. And 7 in 10 Northwest residents continue to believe that their state legislatures and Congress should declare hydro as a renewable energy source.

Flores credited her organization’s “CleanHydro” (cleanhydro.com) awareness effort, now in its second year, for helping to increase public support for and understanding of hydropower and the multiple benefits of the Columbia and Snake river system. Despite progress, there is more work to be done, especially among younger people and transplants to the Northwest who are less familiar with hydro’s benefits, Flores said.

“Many people simply have not grown up with the dams and may not have a complete understanding of the rich resources our rivers provide,” Flores says. “The goal of CleanHydro is to educate them about the Columbia and Snake rivers and the benefits of the clean, renewable energy they generate.”

DHM conducted the online poll of 1,200 residents of Idaho, Oregon and Washington State in late February. Additional findings in the poll show an appreciation for dams beyond the benefits of hydroelectric power. 74 percent of Pacific Northwest residents believe dams provide vital flood control that protects lives, private property and the economy of local communities. 78 percent say irrigation for farms that feed the Northwest and beyond is another fundamental asset provided by dams.

When it comes to the Snake River dams, specifically, the poll shows that a majority of residents agree they are critical to the Northwest. 60 percent of residents consider the four federal dams critical to the region and agree that removing them is an extreme measure that would do more harm than good. Only 11 percent indicated support for removing the dams. 29 percent of respondents answered, “don’t know” when asked about the issue.

“These poll results demonstrate significant public support for the Snake River dams and for hydropower in general,” Flores said. “But they also show us that we can and should do more to spread awareness about the multiple benefits of hydropower to the Northwest, not just on Earth Day, but all year-round.”

 

Northwest RiverPartners’ member organizations include more than 40,000 farmers, 4 million electric utility customers, thousands of port jobs, 7,000 small businesses, and hundreds of large businesses that rely on the economic and environmental benefits of the Columbia and Snake rivers. Northwest RiverPartners advocates for salmon restoration measures that are based in sound science, collaboration and cost effectiveness.  Click here to view the CleanHydro campaign.

 

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