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Brenna Vaughn of the Northwest Hydroelectric Association: A Voice for the Hydropower Industry
Idaho Power’s Bliss Dam and Power Plant.
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he Northwest Hydroelectric Association (NWHA) is a trade association that represents independent energy producers; public and private utilities; local, state, and regional government entities; and individuals across the Northwestern United States and Canada. Its mission is to promote the region’s waterpower as a clean, efficient energy source while protecting wildlife and the environment. In this interview, NWHA Executive Director Brenna Vaughn tells Hydro Leader about the association’s history and current issues and how it helps the hydropower industry to speak with one voice on matters of pressing concern.
Brenna Vaughn: I come from a long line of hydropower workers. I am a fourth-generation hydropower employee. My great grandfather, Harold A. Linke, was the Utah state engineer. My grandfather, Harold A. Linke Jr., worked on
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Hydro Leader: What philosophy do you bring from that background to your current role at the NWHA? hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE NWHA.
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Fontenelle Dam, the beginning of the Central Utah Project, the Weber Basin Project, and the Payson Project. My mom, Deborah Linke, worked for the Western Area Power Administration as the power marketing and rates manager for federal hydropower projects in the western United States and retired after serving for a decade as the manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Power Resources Office. I spent my childhood chasing power plants and transmission lines. On my 21st birthday, as a special treat only a hydro person can understand, I stuck my hand out the face of Hoover Dam on a behind-the-scenes tour. During my childhood and college years, I visited hydropower facilities in Italy, Japan, and throughout the United States. My family has been in hydro for a long time, and you could say I grew up in hydro, so it’s fun to step into that field with the NWHA.
