KPLU Local News
(2009-08-11)
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U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. on Monday evening. He gave a speech to scientists there, telling them about a new federal stimulus project that will create better transmission of Northwest wind energy to power customers.
Anna King Photo
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It's called the McNary-John Day transmission project. And the federal government will spend 343-million-dollars of stimulus money to build 79-miles of new power transmission lines. They'll stretch from Oregon across the Columbia River into Washington and then back into Oregon. Energy Secretary Chu says the project will get wind energy where it's needed on the grid. He also says the Bonneville Power Administration is studying how to best use hydro dams like rechargeable battery packs to capture more wind energy.
Steven Chu: "And so when the wind is blowing and you don't want it, you can use that energy to pump water up a hill and when you need it you can let that water go from one dam to another dam for example."
Chu says the new power line project should transmit nearly 600 megawatts. Work on the new power lines has already started.
I'm Anna King in Richland. © Copyright 2012, N3
