# Little Goose

BPA asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/little-goose

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District - Columbia County - BPAT

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.

## Metrics

- **Nameplate capacity:** 540 MW — Canonical EIA plant baseline.
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 3926 — plant-3926

## Facts

- **Technology:** Conventional Hydroelectric
- **Operator:** U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District

## Related parties

- **Owner / operator:** U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District — Owner and project operator ([source](https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/))
- **Power marketer / transmission owner / balancing authority:** Bonneville Power Administration — Federal power marketer and balancing authority ([source](https://www.bpa.gov/))
- **Equipment supplier:** Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation — Historical turbine supplier for units 1–3
- **Equipment supplier:** Allis Chalmers — Historical turbine supplier for units 4–6

## Sources

- [hydroreform.org](https://hydroreform.org/hydro-project/little-goose) — hydroreform.org · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [public.crohms.org](https://public.crohms.org/tmt/documents/fpp/2026/final/FPP26_08_LGS_03-25-2026.pdf) — public.crohms.org · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [usace.contentdm.oclc.org](https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p16021coll7/id/15399/download) — usace.contentdm.oclc.org · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [water.usace.army.mil](https://water.usace.army.mil/cda/documents/wc/2670/REDACTED%20Little%20Goose%20Water%20Control%20Manual_1988_APPLIED.pdf) — water.usace.army.mil · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [bpa.gov](https://www.bpa.gov/-/media/Aep/transmission/coordinated-transmission-agreement/17to-10001-exhibit-c_revision-9-california-independent-system-operator-corporation.pdf) — bpa.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/little-goose
Website: [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers](https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/)

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/