The High Cost of Removing the Lower Snake River Dams

A Joint Analysis by the Washington Policy Center and Center of the American Experiment.

Preview:

Proposals to remove the four Lower Snake River (LSR) dams: Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Lower Granite, and Lower Monumental, to aid in salmon recovery efforts would transform Washington from a state with some of the lowest electricity prices in the country to a state with much higher costs.

These proposals received a boost when Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee and U.S. Senator Patty Murray released their joint recommendations stating that salmon and other species in Washington state face a dire future that is in part due to the existence of the LSR dams.

This new joint report from the Washington Policy Center and Center of the American Experiment details how replacing the LSR dams with wind, solar, and battery storage would cost Washington State $34.3 billion and force Washington electricity customers to pay an additional $330 per year, on average, through 2050.

A full copy of the report can be viewed here.