Profile Analysis
Resources and Consumption
Washington has few fossil fuel resources but has tremendous renewable power potential. The Columbia and Snake Rivers are immense hydroelectric power resources. The State’s western forests offer fuel wood resources, and large areas of the State are conducive to wind and geothermal power development. The high-temperature geothermal areas found in Washington have the potential to produce up to 300 MW of electric power. Transportation is the leading energy-consuming sector in the State, followed by the industrial and residential sectors. Washington is a leader in the energy-intensive forest products industry and is the site of several large U.S. military bases.
Petroleum
Although Washington has no indigenous crude oil production, it is a principal refining center serving Pacific Northwest markets. Five refineries receive crude oil supply primarily by tanker from Alaska. However, because Alaskan production is in decline, Washington’s refineries are becoming increasingly dependent on crude oil imports from Canada and other countries. The Trans Mountain Pipeline from Alberta supplies more than one-tenth of Washington’s crude oil. Washington’s total petroleum demand is high. Jet fuel consumption is among the highest in the Nation, due in part to several large Air Force and Navy installations. The use of oxygenated motor gasoline is required throughout the State.
Natural Gas
Washington relies heavily on natural gas produced in Canada and transported by pipeline to U.S. markets. The Sumas Center, in Canada near the border between Washington and British Columbia, is the principal natural gas trading and transportation hub for the U.S. Northwest. The Northwest Pipeline Corp. system supplies markets in western Washington and Oregon, and the Gas Transmission Northwest line supplies the eastern part of the two States. The residential sector leads Washington’s natural gas consumption, followed closely by the industrial and electric power generating sectors. Roughly one-third of Washington households use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating.
Coal, Electricity, and Renewables
Washington has one large coal-fired plant located near the State’s only coal mine in the southwest. The mine was closed in November 2006, and Washington currently imports coal from Wyoming and Montana. The State’s only nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station, is located near the Columbia River in the south-central part of the State, and generates nearly one-tenth of the State's electricity. Washington is a major net electricity exporter, supplying electricity to the Canadian power grid and to U.S. markets as far away as California. The State transmits large amounts of cheaply produced hydroelectric power via the Western Interconnection, which runs from British Columbia and Alberta, Canada through Washington and Oregon to southern California and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The system, also known as the Pacific Intertie, is the largest single electricity transmission program in the United States and covers all or part of 14 states. Although the Pacific Intertie was originally designed to transmit electricity south during California’s peak summer demand season, flow is sometimes reversed overnight and has occasionally been reversed during periods of reduced hydroelectric generation in the Northwest.
Typically accounting for close to three-fourths of State electricity generation, hydroelectric power dominates the electricity market in Washington. Coal-fired, natural gas-fired, and nuclear power plants account for roughly equal shares of the remaining generation. Washington is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation, typically generating about twice that of the next leading State. Eight of the State’s 10 largest power plants produce hydroelectricity, primarily from the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The 7,079-megawatt Grand Coulee hydroelectric facility, located on the Columbia River, is the largest generating plant in the United States. Grand Coulee’s generation capacity is almost twice that of Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear plant, the second-ranked U.S. electric plant.
Nonhydroelectric renewable energy sources currently contribute about 3 percent of Washington’s total electricity generation. Washington is a major producer of wind energy and in 2008 ranked fifth in the U.S. in wind capacity. Washington is also a substantial producer of energy from wood and wood waste, accounting for approximately 3 percent of U.S. production. In November 2006, Washington adopted a renewable energy standard that requires all utilities serving at least 25,000 people to produce 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Last updated in October 2009.
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