Ep.51 New hydro in the Northwest!

Ep.51 New hydro in the Northwest!

From Dam! by Northwest RiverPartners

February 20, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode discusses new hydro technologies in the Northwest, focusing on a pumped storage project in Goldendale, Washington, with guest Erik Steimle from Rye Development.

When you think "hydropower" in the Northwest, you probably think about the region's legacy, decades-old dams. The days of building new, largescale hydroelectric dams might be behind us, but technologies like pumped storage hydro offer new ways to add more water power to our grid. Recently, Rye Development got their final green light necessary to break ground on a storage project in Goldendale, Washington, that stands to offer a myriad of benefits to the local economy and the region's grid. Joining us to share the good news is former Dam! guest and vice president of development at Rye, Erik Steimle!

People in this episode

Guest: Erik Steimle

Topics covered

  • hydropower
  • pumped storage
  • renewable energy
  • local economy
  • grid technology

Keywords

  • hydropower
  • pumped storage
  • Rye Development
  • Goldendale
  • Northwest
  • renewable energy
  • electric grid

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rye Development

Places: Goldendale, Washington, Northwest

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