Goldendale Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington Denies Permit For Goldendale Pumped Hydro Project, But It’s Not The End Of The Road

By Courtney Flatt June 24, 2021

The Goldendale Energy Storage Project would be built just outside Goldendale in Klickitat County. If built, it would be the largest pumped storage facility in the Northwest. The lower reservoir is proposed in the flat area below this image, by John Day Dam on the Columbia River. Courtesy of Rye Development

A large energy storage project in Washington will have to reapply for important water quality certifications. The state recently denied the certification because officials didn’t have enough information about the Goldendale Energy Storage Project. Read More

Even In The Bright Of Day, Some Klickitat County Residents Have A Solar Energy ‘Nightmare’

By Courtney Flatt May 3, 2021

Elaine Harvey, left, a member of the Rock Creek band, Ka-milt-pah, of the Yakama Nation, at an April 1, 2021 demonstration in Goldendale opposing a solar farm project. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

If approved, a utility-scale solar farm would be the largest in renewable friendly Klickitat County and in Washington. But some residents say its potential location doesn’t take one important thing into account: environmental justice. Read More

‘It’s Irreversible’: Goldendale Green Energy Project Highlights A History Of Native Dispossession

By Courtney Flatt April 2, 2021

Rattlesnake Mountain on the Hanford Reach National Monument has restricted and protected access. It's considered a sacred site by Northwest tribes, including the Yakama Nation and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. CREDIT ANNA KING/NW NEWS NETWORK

The Goldendale Energy Storage Project would be a solution to generate energy when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. But, to the Yakama Nation, the destruction of those sites would add another heartbreak to an ever-expanding list. Countless important cultural areas have faced destruction across the Northwest, largely because they’re not understood by Read More

Northwest Clean-Energy Advocates Eye Pumped Hydro To Fill Gaps, With Tribes Noting Concerns

By Courtney Flatt July 24, 2020

Many states – including Oregon and Washington – have set renewable energy goals. But, there’s a problem. The wind isn’t always blowing, and the sun isn’t always shining. That’s why wind and solar power are variable, or intermittent. Enter pumped hydro. It's not a new technology, but it is gaining more interest regionally. Read More

Observatory’s Cosmic Upgrade Grinds To A Halt For Earthly Reasons

By Austin Jenkins August 11, 2017

File photo. The Goldendale Observatory boasts one of the largest, public telescopes in the country. It’s Classical Cassegrain telescope, shown here, was converted to Newtonian in 2016. TROY CARPENTER /… Continue Reading Observatory’s Read More