The Columbia River Collection on Columbia", "Grand Coulee Dam", "Hard Travelin’," and "Pastures of Plenty." In May 1941, after a brief stay in Los Angeles, Guthrie moved to Portland, Oregon, in the neighborhood of Lents, on the promise of a job. Gunther von Fritsch was directing a documentary about the Bonneville Power Administration's construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, and needed a narrator. Alan Lomax had recommended Guthrie to narrate the film and sing songs onscreen. The original project was expected to take 12 months, but as the filmmakers became worried about casting such a political figure, they minimized Guthrie's
Grand Coulee Dam of electricity. Each generator is supplied with water by an individual penstock. The largest of these feed the Third Powerplant and are in diameter and can supply up to . The dam's power facilities originally had an installed capacity of 1,974 MW but expansions and upgrades have increased generation to 6,809 MW installed, 7,079 MW maximum. Grand Coulee Dam generates 21 TWh of electricity annually. This means the dam generates about 2,397 MW of power on average, which results in a total plant factor efficiency of 35%. In 2014, 20.24 TWh of electricity was generated. Grand Coulee Dam's spillway is