Washington's power plants range from concrete dams on the Columbia River to wind turbines on the ridgelines above Goldendale and gas-fired units beside the Cowlitz River in Longview. This page groups the state's listings so you can find the facility near you, see which county it sits in, and work out who actually runs it. That last question matters. A plant in Washington may be operated by a city, a public utility district, a federal agency or a private company, and each one has a different front door.

How Power Generation Is Organised Across Washington

Washington leans on water more than any other state. Hydropower is the largest source of electricity here in most years, and the state leads the country in hydroelectric output. Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, operated by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, is the largest power-producing facility in the United States. Many of the plants households rely on every day are smaller and owned much closer to home.

Ownership falls into a few groups, and knowing which one applies tells you who to call:

Who Regulates Washington Power Plants

No single office oversees every plant, so the rules depend on the type and size of the facility. Understanding the layers helps when you want to comment on a project, ask about permits or report a concern.

Large thermal projects, and some renewable projects that opt in, go through the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, known as EFSEC. It was created under chapter 80.50 of the Revised Code of Washington and handles generating facilities of 350 megawatts or more. It offers one combined review in place of separate local approvals. Smaller wind farms, solar arrays and gas units are usually permitted by the county where they are built, so county planning departments, including Klickitat County's, matter a great deal for wind development.

Hydroelectric dams owned by utilities and PUDs need a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Ecology issues water-quality certifications for them. Air permits come from Ecology or from a regional clean air agency, such as the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency or the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission sets rates for investor-owned utilities like Puget Sound Energy and Avista. It does not regulate PUDs or city-owned utilities, which answer to elected boards and city councils.

State policy also shapes what gets built. The Clean Energy Transformation Act of 2019 requires utilities to remove coal power from the electricity they serve by the end of 2025, reach greenhouse-gas neutral supply by 2030 and deliver 100 percent clean electricity by 2045. That law explains why new wind, solar and storage projects keep appearing alongside older dams.

Western and Eastern Washington: Where the Plants Are

The Cascade Range splits the state into two very different power maps. East of the mountains, big rivers and steady wind do most of the work. West of them, rain-fed rivers feed older hydro plants, while gas, biomass and cogeneration units sit close to population centers and industry.

The wind belt is easiest to see in Klickitat County, our largest county with 16 listings. Big Horn Wind II at Bickleton, the Tuolumne Wind Project at Goldendale and the Harvest Wind Project at Roosevelt all sit on windy ridges and plateaus. Farther east, Hopkins Ridge Wind near Dayton in Columbia County and the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project at Pomeroy in Garfield County carry the pattern into the Palouse and the Blue Mountain foothills. Sagebrush Power Partners near Ellensburg in Kittitas County is another example.

On the west side, King County mixes long-running hydro with urban infrastructure. Cedar Falls near North Bend feeds Seattle's grid, while Black Creek in Bellevue and West Point in Seattle show how the category also catches smaller or less traditional sites.

Skagit County has Upper Baker near Concrete, plus the Sierra Pacific Burlington Facility at Mount Vernon, a wood-products site with its own power generation. In Cowlitz County, the Mint Farm Generation Power Plant in Longview and the Merwin plant at Ariel represent the gas and hydro sides of the system. Next door in Lewis County, Mossyrock and the Chehalis Generating Facility split the same way, and Frederickson in Pierce County serves the Tacoma area.

Finding and Visiting a Power Plant in Washington

Start with the county, then the operator. Our county pages narrow the list, and the listing address tells you the nearest town. Some addresses point to an office rather than the plant itself. Rock Island, for instance, carries a Wenatchee address, and the Grimes Way listing in Pullman gives only a street name. Check a map before you drive.

Most plants are working industrial sites with restricted access. Gates are normally closed to the public, especially at gas plants, nuclear facilities and federal dams. A few dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers offer visitor areas, fish-viewing windows or interpretive centers, often on seasonal schedules. Confirm hours with the operator first.

Before you go or call, these steps save time:

Private plants are not covered by the Public Records Act. For those, permit files at the county or at EFSEC are the best public source.

Reading Washington Listings Carefully

The category is broad. Some entries are utility-scale dams and wind farms. Others are cogeneration units at mills, or energy equipment at a wastewater facility. West Point Seattle Treatment Power Plant is one example. It is listed here, but its main job is treating wastewater for the Seattle area. If you need a specific kind of generation, look in the name for words such as Wind, Dam, Cogeneration or Generating Facility.

Spokane's Monroe Street plant, Longview's Mint Farm and the Chelan and Rock Island dams show how different the entries can be, even inside one category. Use the county pages to compare nearby sites and confirm details with the operator before you plan a visit or a formal request.

Power plant facilities in Washington include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Washington's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 95 cities across Washington. They are spread across 30 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Longview, Spokane, Concrete, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Washington who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Washington who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Washington, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Washington to find the nearest location.

Living Near a Washington Power Plant: Seasons, Safety and Local Contacts

Output at Washington plants follows the weather. Hydro plants produce the most when snowmelt and spring rain swell the rivers, usually from April through early summer. Late-summer flows drop, and operators balance power production against fish passage and irrigation needs. Wind output swings by the day and the season, so a turbine that sits still on a calm afternoon may spin hard that night.

Safety near dams deserves attention. Releases can raise river levels quickly, sometimes with little visible warning. Stay out of posted restricted zones above and below spillways and powerhouses, and heed any siren or sign. Boat launches near dams usually carry notices about hazards and closures.

For local issues, match the problem to the right agency. Reports of a fuel or oil spill go to the Washington Department of Ecology. Questions about fish or wildlife go to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Emergencies near an east-side project, such as Monroe Street in Spokane County or Ice Harbor Lock and Dam near Burbank in Walla Walla County, go through 911 and county emergency management.

Many operators also publish public notices before maintenance work, a reservoir drawdown or a license renewal. PUD and city utility boards meet in public and post agendas online. Attending a meeting is often the fastest way to put a question to the people who run a plant.

Washington Power Plant Questions Answered

Most large projects go to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, which reviews energy facilities under chapter 80.50 of the Revised Code of Washington. Thermal power plants of 350 megawatts or more fall under its authority, and some renewable projects can choose that route. EFSEC holds public hearings and sends its recommendation to the governor, who makes the final decision. Smaller projects are permitted by the county or city where they will be built, often with a State Environmental Policy Act review. Hydroelectric projects also need a federal license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a water-quality certification from the Department of Ecology.

Very little, and that is changing. The TransAlta plant at Centralia in Lewis County was the state's last coal-fired power plant. Under an agreement with the state, its first unit retired in 2020, and the second was set to stop burning coal by the end of 2025. The Clean Energy Transformation Act also requires Washington utilities to remove coal power from the electricity they serve by the end of 2025. Plans for the site can change, so check with the owner or Lewis County for its current status. Most of the state's electricity now comes from hydro, wind, nuclear and natural gas.

It depends on the operator. Federal and utility-owned dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have at times offered visitor centers, fish-viewing windows or guided tours, but hours change with the season and with security rules. Gas plants, wind farms and the nuclear plant near Richland rarely allow walk-in visits. Contact the operator well in advance, ask whether a group booking is required and bring photo identification. Expect to wear closed-toe shoes, and in some areas safety gear supplied on site. Cameras and bags may be restricted. If a plant does not offer tours, its website or community relations office may still share photos and educational material.

Call your electric utility, not the plant. Which utility serves you depends on your address. Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, Snohomish County PUD, Avista, PacifiCorp and a long list of local PUDs and cooperatives each cover their own areas. Your bill names your provider, and most utilities run an outage map and a phone line. A plant in our directory generates power and feeds it to the grid. It does not repair local distribution lines. If you see a downed line, stay well away from it and call 911 first.

Wind and geography combine there. Air funneling through the Columbia River Gorge and across the open plateau near Bickleton, Goldendale and Roosevelt produces strong, steady winds, and the land is largely rangeland and farmland with room for turbines. High-voltage transmission lines near the Columbia River, much of it tied to the Bonneville Power Administration system, make it easier to move the power. Landowners also receive lease income, which helps projects win local support. Those factors explain why Big Horn Wind II, the Tuolumne Wind Project and the Harvest Wind Project all appear among the county's 16 listings.

Start with the listing name and county, since words like Wind, Dam or Cogeneration hint at the type. For hydropower, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's public records name the licensee, while federal dams appear on Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation pages. For larger thermal projects, EFSEC publishes project files. The county assessor's parcel records name the property owner, and the Washington Secretary of State's corporate search shows the company behind a project and its registered agent. If you still cannot tell, call the nearest city hall or county planning office, which usually knows who holds the permits.