Pumped Storage Hydro Project Looked At For Central, Arizona

Is a closed water pumping system possible for renewable energy source?

An electric energy generating and storage operation based on a closed pumped water system may be built in northern Yavapai County on 650 acres about five miles southeast of Seligman south of Interstate 40. ITC Holdings, a subsidiary of Fortis Company, appeared in Prescott Feb.

 From article, (An electric energy generating and storage operation based on a closed pumped water system may be built in northern Yavapai County on 650 acres about five miles southeast of Seligman south of Interstate 40.

ITC Holdings, a subsidiary of Fortis Company, appeared in Prescott Feb. 27 at a meeting in which Corporation Commissioner Andy Tobin, and others, took part.

Tobin said following the meeting that this project, which will generate and store 20,000 megawatts-hour of electricity, is timely and fits with his recently released Energy Modernization Plan. The Plan calls for clean energy to provide 80 percent of energy needs in the state by 2050. Clean energy includes solar, hydro, wind and nuclear.

“This project will allow our state to better harness the potential of solar resources and put them to use during expensive peak hours,” Tobin said in his Feb. 27 press release.

Reversible turbines pump water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir during periods of low demand. Electricity can be generated on demand by flowing the water back through a turbine to the lower reservoir during high demand hours.

The initial fill of the reservoirs will take about 28,000 acre-feet of water drawn from the Big Chino aquifer. Engineers anticipate some loss of water — about 1,200 acre-feet per year — due to evaporation and leakage

According to the ITC materials, ranchers on the property currently use 2,000 acre-feet of water annually for agriculture.

The company is studying the extent and impact of potential groundwater withdrawal in its hydrogeological modelling. Other studies on the property include cultural resources, wildlife habitat, native plants, and meterorological monitoring.

Project Engineer and Director Brian Studenka, ITC Grid Development, said “We’re in the preliminary stages of this project and really appreciate the input we’re getting from different voices in the community. We’re listening and looking at everything to make sure we get this right. Collaboration, transparency and community involvement are important to us.”)

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