Tom Osborn of the Bonneville Power Authority: Working With Irrigators to Increase Energy Efficiency
In this photo, taken at McNary Dam, the difference between the new 300-watt LEDs in the foreground and the old 1,000-watt high-intensity discharge fixtures in the background is visible. This change represents a huge energy and labor savings, and the lighting is much improved.
I
n the 40 years since Congress directed the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to meet growing energy needs through renewables and efficiency, the agency has saved 2,350 average megawatts (MW) through energy efficiency programs. BPA is a federal power marking agency that markets and transmits power from the Pacific Northwest federal dams and one nuclear power plant to more than 130 public utilities, including co-ops, rural electric associations, municipalities, and public utility districts. BPA helps irrigation districts and other irrigators conduct energy audits and take advantage of incentive programs. Irrigation Leader spoke with BPA energy engineer Tom Osborn about how, when it comes to energy cost savings, less is indeed more.
the Pacific Northwest. We market our power to publicly owned utilities. Our power also comes from our two wind farms; one 1,150 MW nuclear power plant; and the Federal Columbia River Power System, which is made up of 31 hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River basin. The utilities to which we market wholesale electrical power include cooperatives, rural electric associations, municipalities, and public utility districts. We have about 130 customers of those types.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Tom Osborn: Over 90 percent. The precise figure depends on whether the nuclear power plant is scheduled for an outage in a given year and how much water we have available in snowpack.
30 | IRRIGATION LEADER | March 2022
Irrigation Leader: You work primarily with irrigation districts and other irrigators. Where does their power come from? Tom Osborn: The irrigation districts have access to Reclamation reserve power. The irrigators purchase their power from local utilities. irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF BPA.
Tom Osborn: I’ve been with BPA for over 30 years. I am currently in our energy efficiency group, working with irrigation-related energy efficiency projects. I work with irrigators, both large and small, and with irrigation districts, some of which irrigate over 200,000 acres. I also work with our federal partners, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. BPA is the power marketing agency for federal hydropower resources here in
Irrigation Leader: What percentage of your power comes from hydropower generation?
