If we want the United States-not China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea-to lead the next generation of technological innovation, we must treat affordable, reliable electricity as a strategic imperative. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) helped build the American century. Under its new leadership, it will power the next one.
The race to lead the world in artificial intelligence will not be won by algorithms alone, it will be won by the country with the most reliable, affordable electricity. Across the Pacific Northwest, we have a competitive advantage: an abundant supply of hydropower that produces a significant amount of our electricity.
For decades, BPA has been the Pacific Northwest’s dominant power provider and ensured that the region shared in the benefits of our federal hydropower system. With thousands of transmission lines, it connects affordable, reliable, nuclear energy and hydropower to its utility customers and homeowners.
Since its creation in 1937, BPA has marketed electricity generated by the Federal Columbia River Power System while simultaneously building and operating one of the nation’s largest high-voltage transmission networks. That system helped fuel the region’s economic growth and powered wartime manufacturing during World War II. Nearly a century later, BPA’s 15,000 miles of transmission lines continue to provide reliable, low-cost electricity to millions across the region.
Today, it can help power America’s next industrial revolution. Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming an engine of economic growth and a cornerstone of our national security strategy. The data centers that support AI require enormous amounts of electricity, and demand is expected to increase exponentially. In Washington alone, companies including Amazon, Atlas Agro, and Trammell Crow have announced significant investments to advance data center infrastructure in the Tri-Cities region, underscoring the Pacific Northwest’s growing role in the AI economy.
The question is no longer whether these facilities will or should be built. The question is whether America can generate and deliver enough electricity to power them while keeping energy affordable for families, farmers, and manufacturers.
That’s why Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s comparison of the AI race to “another Manhattan Project” rings true. Winning it will require the same kind of national commitment to infrastructure that defined previous generations. Electricity is no longer another input to economic growth or an afterthought. It’s the foundation upon which the defining technological breakthrough of our time is being built.
Fortunately, the Pacific Northwest already possesses tremendous assets cultivated by BPA across decades. BPA’s role in the federal hydropower system and region’s transmission network provides a reliable bedrock that few can match. Meeting tomorrow’s demand, however, will require more than just preserving what we have. We must build and expand transmission capacity, upgrade aging infrastructure, and add new sources of power generation so that our grid remains reliable and accessible.
History shows us what’s possible. During World War II, the Columbia River’s hydroelectric dams energized aluminum production, aircraft manufacturing, and nuclear enrichment at Hanford-industries and operations that proved essential to American and Allied victory in 1945. Today, that same spirit of investment and innovation can help secure America’s preeminent legacy in the AI era.
Representative Dan Newhouse is the current U.S. representative for Washington’s 4th congressional district.
