SONY DSC

Lewis County PUD Fuel Mix

As seen from the information below, the majority of the power we purchase comes from various hydroelectric sources throughout the Northwest.

2021 Lewis PUD Generation Fuel Mix

  • Hydro – 78.16%
  • Nuclear – 10.02%
  • Coal – 0.00%
  • Natural Gas – 0.00%
  • Wind – 1.62%
  • Solar – 0.00%
  • Other – 10.20%

* “Other” are market purchases from unknown resources that the district offsets with renewable energy credits.

Fuel Mix Reporting

Cowlitz Falls Project

The Cowlitz Falls Project is a 70 megawatt hydroelectric dam that was constructed in the early 1990’s. The dam and power generation facility were completed in 1994. The dam is 140 feet high and spans approximately 700 feet across the Cowlitz River. The reservoir behind the dam has a surface area of approximately 700 acres.

Cowlitz Falls Project

power supply

Bonneville Power Administration

Most of the District’s energy is provided by The Bonneville Power Administration, a federal nonprofit agency based in the Pacific Northwest. Although BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, it is self-funding and covers its costs by selling its products and services. BPA markets wholesale electrical power from 31 federal hydro projects in the Columbia River Basin, one nonfederal nuclear plant and several other small nonfederal power plants.

Bonneville Power Administration

White Creek Wind

Lewis County PUD receives about 6 average megawatts of power through its 10% share of the White Creek Wind Project, located in Klickitat County, Washington (Our Capacity Share is 20 MW). The project has 89 turbines with a nameplate capacity of 204 megawatts.

White Creek Wind

Burton Creek Hydro

Burton Creek Hydro is owned and operated by Sollos Energy LLC. While Burton Creek has been producing about 200 Average KWh and about 500 Peak KWh for the past few decades, in 2011 the FERC license required some new upgrades to the facility and work was done to bring the plant back to life.

Burton Creek Hydro

Nine Canyon Wind

Nine Canyon, located approximately ten miles southeast of Kennewick, was developed in three phases and today features 63 wind turbines that produce up to 96 megawatts of renewable electricity. At the time Phase I of Nine Canyon was being developed, it was considered the largest public power-owned wind project in the nation. Phase II added 12, 1.3 megawatt turbines in 2003. Phase III came online in 2008 with 14 larger turbines, capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of electricity each. The power from Nine Canyon is provided at-cost to the following participating Energy Northwest member utilities: Benton County PUD, Chelan County PUD, Cowlitz County PUD, Franklin County PUD, Grays Harbor PUD, Lewis County PUD, Okanogan County PUD, Grant County PUD, Douglas County PUD, and Mason County PUD 3.

Nine Canyon Wind

packwood

Packwood Hydro

Energy Northwest’s first electric power project (Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project) – started in 1962, and operation began in 1964. Located five miles east of Packwood, Wa, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, it has the capacity to produce 27.5 megawatts of electricity.

Packwood Hydro