A safe, reliable, and environmentally sound way to meet clean energy needs, grow Oregon’s economy, and create thousands of new jobs.
The Swan Lake Project will support working families and communities in Southern Oregon.
As one of the first new pumped storage projects built in the U.S. in nearly 30 years, the Swan Lake project is a milestone for Klamath County.
The Swan Lake Project will create more than 3,000 jobs over its construction period. Almost half of these jobs are family-wage jobs in the building and construction trades, ranging from electricians to laborers to heavy machinery operators.
Swan Lake will be built by union workers, guaranteeing safe working conditions and fair compensation. The project will also be an opportunity to train new apprentices, who will get the experience they need on this project to guarantee higher-wage jobs in the future.
This is made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Southern Oregon Building and Construction Trades Council, which will negotiate a Project Labor Agreement for construction. Go here to find a full economic and financial impact report.
Swan Lake will provide a major boost to the local economy and needed tax revenue to support essential services. The project will also protect ratepayers from higher energy prices, an important benefit across all sectors of industry, and especially in key sectors like manufacturing.
Boosting the Local Economy
The Swan Lake Energy Project complies with all US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Division of Dam Safety regulations. Safety will be incorporated into all aspects of project design, construction, and operation. The project will utilize trained and experienced construction inspectors who will ensure compliance with all safety standards and construction specifications.
Before being placed into operation, the project will be inspected by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Division of Dam Safety. Once in service, the project will be required to be monitored, inspected, and maintained to meet federal hydropower and dam safety regulations.
As Oregon braces for more frequent extreme weather events and wildfires due to climate change, concern about the resilience of the electric grid is increasing—and Swan Lake is an important part of grid reliability.
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A safe, reliable, and environmentally sound way to meet clean energy needs, grow Oregon’s economy, and create thousands of new jobs.