The Northwest region needs to build more wind, solar and gas-powered electricity, and fast, according to recommendations released Thursday by a federal planning group. And data centers are one reason.
Those recommendations were released as a draft that could still be revised. They say Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington need to add 11 gigawatts of new electricity generation in the next five years.
That unprecedented growth would add more energy to the region than the entire state of Oregon presently uses. The last 10 GW the region added took a decade to develop.
FILE - A data center in Umatilla, Ore., on April 3, 2026. The development of new data centers is one factor behind recommendations to generate more electricity in the Northwest.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Data center growth is making it hard to determine the actual amount of electricity the region will need in the future, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council said.
That’s one factor driving the push to spend an estimated $2.3 billion on new electricity generation and to develop other ways to manage electrical use, by 2032, according to the draft Ninth Northwest Power Plan.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council was created in 1980 to guide how the region meets its electrical needs. Every five years it issues recommendations for the Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville generates a third of the region’s electricity and owns more than 75% of the transmission lines that move that electricity to homes and businesses.
Related: Dams, power lines and statistics: What the Bonneville Power Administration is and does
The draft Ninth Power Plan is the council’s latest five-year proposal. It forecasts the region will need 9 GW of renewables like solar and wind power, at least 2 GW of natural gas and 5 GW of battery storage by 2032.
“The Northwest’s power system will rely on a diverse mix of resources in the next 5-10 years,” NWPCC Director of Power Planning Jennifer Light said in a statement. “No single resource on its own will be able to meet our growing need for energy in the future.
Adding as much electricity as the NWPCC recommends could be an enormous challenge.
As OPB and ProPublica reported in 2025, Oregon and Washington rank near the bottom in the country when it comes to bringing new renewables online. The Trump administration has also rolled back tax breaks and federal support for renewable energy, making it even harder for the region to add more power sources to the grid and meet those states’ climate goals.
FILE - Windmills and solar panels in Umatilla County, Ore., on April 1, 2026.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
The NWPCC’s recommendations come at a time when demand for electricity is reaching new heights.
More people are switching from gasoline-powered vehicles and natural gas stoves to electric options, and power-hungry data centers are quickly plugging into the region’s grid. That’s making it difficult for power planners to determine exactly how much new electricity the region needs to generate to keep up with the demand.
FILE - Transmission towers at Bonneville Power Administration’s Earl D. Ostrander Substation near Eagle Creek, Jan. 5, 2023.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The draft Ninth Power Plan report attempts to find that “Goldilocks” balance to avoid risks like blackouts by not building enough, or over-building new generation that ratepayers might foot the bill for.
Light said the council looked at multiple scenarios.
It found that data centers are the largest growth drivers in the near future, and will need about an additional 4 GW by 2030.
The council recommends creating a standard that ensures new data centers can be built as efficiently as possible, Light said.
Extreme weather risks like wildfires and ice storms that could impact transmission lines and delivery of power are also shaping the region’s energy needs. Other factors include inadequate transmission capacity and hydropower.
The Ninth Power Plan is open for public comment through Oct. 16. The power council expects to issue a final update later this year or early 2027.
