(Washington, D.C.) Today, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers launched a new effort to help spread the word about the benefits of a renewable source of power prevalent in the Northwest: hydropower. McMorris Rodgers created the Congressional Hydropower Caucus to educate members of Congress and their staff about the many benefits of renewable, clean and emissions-free hydropower.

“In the Pacific Northwest, we have benefited from clean, renewable hydropower,” McMorris Rodgers said. “In fact, dams provide nearly two-thirds of Washington State’s electricity. These dams have kept the Pacific Northwest's ‘carbon footprint’ at half that of the rest of the nation.”

In addition to education, the goals of the Congressional Hydropower Caucus include advocating for protecting and expanding hydropower facilities and promoting hydropower as a clean, renewable, emissions-free and relatively low-cost electricity generation resource, especially in the context of energy supply, electric reliability and global climate change legislation and research.

McMorris Rodgers is the Ranking Republican on the Water and Power Subcommittee, where she has been working to tell the good news story about hydropower and its role in meeting American energy needs with American resources. “At a time of growing energy demand, it makes no sense to throw this energy source away,” McMorris Rodgers said. “I am committed, as we move forward with the debate on global climate change, and how to reduce our carbon emissions, that hydropower be recognized for the important role it has played in the Pacific Northwest.”

Contact:
Destry Henderson
202-225-2006
202-279-0418