Little Goose
Little Goose Dam is a 540-megawatt conventional hydroelectric plant on the Snake River in Columbia County, Washington, made up of four generating units that came online between 1970 and 1978. The dam is a federally owned structure operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with its power marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration into the BPA balancing area at price nodes near the plant. Little Goose is one of four Lower Snake River dams, along with Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite, whose potential removal has been debated for decades; the Corps has stated it does not have discretion to breach or decommission a congressionally authorized dam without action from Congress. In February 2026 a federal court ordered adjusted spill and reservoir operations at the four Lower Snake River dams, including Little Goose, to aid salmon migration, while leaving the dams themselves in place and operating. All four units at Little Goose remain in service, and no whole-plant retirement is scheduled.