Cliff Mass Weather Blog
This blog discusses current weather, weather prediction, climate issues, and current events
April 22, 2025
Washington's Only Nuclear Power Station Will Be Shut Down for Two Months, Can Wind Energy Fill The Gap?
The only nuclear power plant in Washington, the Columbia Generating Station, is now being refueled and repaired, having been taken offline on April 11.
There is a reason they decided to do this on April 11th and not during December or February.
Why? Because this is the season of rapid increase in wind energy in the Northwest and a time of substantial water inflow behind local dams, which should greatly assist in providing needed power.
Take a look at the BPA generation numbers of the past week. Green is wind generation.
Big increase on April 19th, with wind producing almost a third of the power provided by hydro (blue)
The origin of this wind energy bounty is from a recent increase in winds over eastern Washington, something illustrated by winds last week at Ellensburg. The sustained wind accelerated to over 25 knots (29 mph)!
Considering the wind speeds during the past year at Ellensburg, you can see the ramp-up of winds in March after a low-wind winter period (November to March). The wind energy season has begun and will continue through the summer.
But why, you ask. Why is winter so bad for wind energy generation? Surely, more storms are coming in during the November-February period, such as the famed bomb cyclones of last November.
But not in eastern Washington.
Cool, dense air settles into the Columbia Basin, creating a dead-air zone over most of the wind turbines in our region (see wind farm map below). Western Washington is windy. Eastern Washington is not.
Strong winds east of the Cascades are associated with winds from the west.
Generally, this requires high pressure to the west of the Cascades and lower pressure to the east. As shown below, from January to February, the opposite situation exists, mainly due to low-pressure systems over the northeast Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska (sea level pressure is shown).
In contrast, the situation from April to May is reversed, with higher pressure over the ocean and lower pressure inland. Good for wind energy generation in eastern Washington!
With such a pressure pattern, air from western Washington can accelerate eastward, descending the eastern slopes of the Cascades or moving to the east through the Columbia Gorge.
Two recent UW WRF model forecasts show the wind pattern well (see below), with the yellow and orange colors indicating the strongest winds (on the eastern slopes of the Cascades and adjacent areas)
Ellensburg and the Columbia Gorge regions are favored because the Cascades are lower there. The strongest winds are in the early evening, following the daily warming in the Columbia Basin (which causes pressure to fall there, since warm air is less dense than cold air).
The bottom line: there should be plenty of wind power during the next months, reducing the need for nuclear energy.
Posted by Cliff Mass Weather Blog at April 22, 2025
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