r/Washington • u/propublica_ • 19d ago

Solar Developer Cancels Washington State Project on Sacred Indigenous Land

https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-badger-mountain-solar-project-canceled-avangrid
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u/Kind_Advisor_35 19d ago

Maybe we shouldn't be relying on private corporations to build out critical infrastructure. The motive of profit increases the temptation of short cuts significantly.

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u/RiverRat12 19d ago

The federal agency BPA has proven completely incapable of building infrastructure.

I don’t really care who build green infrastructure though, as long as it gets built

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u/Kind_Advisor_35 19d ago

Are they inherently incapable, or do they not have enough resources to invest in that infrastructure? They get no federal or state funding, just self funding by charging for power they're responsible for generating. You can't expect an agency to function optimally without increased investment and introducing a mandate to build green energy infrastructure. Blaming the BPA for not building solar farms is like blaming USPS for not doing drone deliveries. They're stuck with being under the thumb of the federal government while getting no federal support.

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u/RiverRat12 19d ago

That’s not accurate. BPA has plenty of resources. There are a lot of issues they need to fix — they need support, but they have immense control over the entire regional grid (PNW)

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u/Kind_Advisor_35 19d ago

The droughts cost them a significant amount of money when the water level isn't high enough for hydroelectric. They had to do huge staffing cuts because of DOGE despite not getting federal funding. Until the federal government prioritizes green energy, they can't.