Hydropower remains essential to affordable, reliable electricity in Idaho

We all love Idaho for its natural beauty, homegrown agriculture and great outdoor recreation. Affordable, reliable, carbon free hydropower has been the foundation of our quality of life and economy for decades and is providing new, cutting-edge job opportunities for communities across our area.

Maintaining our hydropower resources is essential if we are going to continue growing crops that feed our families and the world while supporting a growing technology sector here in the Gem State.

In recent years the technology economy, from micro-chip manufacturing to data centers, has grown in our region. Data centers, for example, play a central role in supporting the internet we increasingly depend on in our everyday lives and are the foundation to the growth of emerging artificial intelligence capabilities.

These exciting developments also present challenges to our electric grid.

The 2024 Northwest Regional Forecast, produced by the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee, predicts that demand for electricity will grow by as much as 30% in our region in the next decade. Data centers use 10 to 50 times the amount of energy that a typical office would and represent a major part of that future spike in energy usage.

At the same time, the Northwest is set to experience rising energy demand through population growth and electrification of vehicles, buildings and other uses. These growing electricity uses come as aggressive clean energy goals throughout the region have spurred the onset of coal plant retirements.

All of this makes a clear case for maintaining our affordable, reliable hydropower generation.

Hydropower provides Idaho, and the region, with the energy we need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. It also supports the development of wind and solar energy by stepping in when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing. In many ways, the energy from our dams is as important as ever.

Locally and regionally, energy leaders are stepping up to solve these complex challenges.

Idaho Falls Power is already an owner of four hydroelectric dams located on the Snake River, and is working hard to maintain service to customers by also building a new 17.5 megawatt peaking plant to provide additional on-demand energy. The new plant will be paired with the existing hydropower resources to create a robust, microgrid in the event of any larger grid disruptions.

These microgrids, despite the name, can be quite large. They have the unique capability to isolate from the much larger grid that serves an entire region and rely on localized self-sufficient resources. Being able to do so ensures grid resiliency in the face of extreme weather and natural disasters that can cause energy disruptions, including wildfires.

Idaho Falls also worked with the Idaho National Laboratory to pioneer a hydropower-driven microgrid project to help develop “black start” technology. This technology would utilize power generated by hydropower in the event of a blackout to restart a portion of the grid. While the technology is still in development and is now pivoting towards a mobile black start unit, it shows tremendous promise for greater reliability.

Still, to meet our near-term electricity needs, we’re going to need all the hydropower we can get. Other emerging technologies including hydrogen, nuclear, and battery storage could help address the larger scale gaps but are many years away.

It may sound simple, as our dams are already built and operating, but there are growing pressures to remove productive dams or reduce their electric output.

If we want affordable, clean, reliable energy and a growing economy we need to advocate for the hydropower that we have depended on for decades. To ensure we have every resource at our disposal here in Idaho, we invite you to educate friends, families, and policymakers about hydropower’s vital role in meeting our needs today, and for years to come.