The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a preliminary permit for a 1,200-MW pumped-storage hydro project on the Columbia River that could provide flexible capacity to support large amounts of intermittent wind energy in the Pacific Northwest, according to the project's backers.
National Grid USA and Rye Development LLC are developing the project on the Washington side of the river next to the John Day Dam. The Goldendale Energy Storage Project near Goldendale in Klickitat County, Wash., would be built on the same site as the now-defunct JD Pool Pumped Storage Project, for which PUD No 1 of Klickitat County sought a permit until it eventually abandoned the project as beyond the financial means of the 11,600-customer district.
Rye said in its application to FERC that the Goldendale system will initially be filled with water from the Columbia River using existing pumping infrastructure of a former smelter but the water will then be recycled except for a small amount of "make-up water" from the river to replenish losses from evaporation.
In comments to Oregon state regulators, National Grid promoted the project and its 400-MW Swan Lake North Pumped Storage Project in southern Oregon, saying both projects will be "closed-loop" systems that will be built near high-voltage transmission corridors. Their "unmatched flexibility" will allow the projects to serve multiple roles, providing energy, capacity, balancing services, reserves, and other reliability and economic benefits for a utility and on a regional basis, National Grid said in comments on Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary PacifiCorp's integrated resource plan proceeding Nov. 28, 2017.
National Grid urged Washington and Oregon regulators to direct PacifiCorp to work with National Grid to evaluate the value and benefits of grid-scale storage in its integrated resource plan. The Columbia River Gorge is a region of intense wind energy development.
Project is next to contaminated site
FERC noted that the project is on land owned by NSC Smelter at the former Columbia Gorge Aluminum smelter site, which is designated a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act contaminated site and subject to a cleanup effort being overseen by the Washington Department of Ecology. However, the department has said the pumped storage project will not hinder the cleanup process.
The commission also said the pumped-storage developer has shown its project boundary does not include any land subject to further cleanup activities. Still, FERC said the developer will have to show any future licensing for the project will not impede the cleanup.
The preliminary permit does not allow a permit holder to begin building a proposed project but rather to study the feasibility of the project and its potential impacts for three years, FERC said.
In its application for the permit, Rye said the project is at the northern terminus of the Pacific AC and DC Interties operated by the Bonneville Power Administration, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the California ISO.
Facilities to be constructed include a new 59-acre upper reservoir, 62-acre lower reservoir, underground water conveyance tunnel, underground powerhouse and 230-kV transmission lines that would be interconnected with the John Day substation. The upper reservoir would have a maximum surface elevation of 2,940 feet above mean sea level, and the lower would have a maximum surface elevation of 580 feet above mean sea level. (FERC Project No. 14861)
