Portland’s hydropower dams, long a profitable venture, post another year of losses - OregonLive
Portland’s hydropower dams, long a profitable venture, post another year of losses - oregonlive.com
A pair of hydropower dams controlled by the city of Portland operated in the red last fiscal year, the fourth money-losing year in the past five.
Total expenses for the two Bull Run watershed facilities outpaced power sales by more than $100,000 for the 12-month period that ended in June despite forecasts projecting six-figure profits, figures obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: hydropower
Hydropower — electricity generated by turbines capturing energy from moving water — was for many years the primary contributor of renewable energy to the U.S. electricity grid. Its growth was rapid into the 1970s, and since then has offered a stable supply of power, while a declining share of all generation. For many years, hydropower was seen as clean energy and an unalloyed good, but a greater understanding of the impact of dams on ecosystems and wildlife has led to the removal of some dams. As of 2019, hydropower trails wind as a renewable source of power generation.