Washington’s draft report on pumped storage hydropower finds ways to do less harm

Pumped storage hydropower has been around for decades. It acts as a battery and stores energy for when it’s needed on the grid. But Washington lawmakers wanted to know more about it. So, they asked for an informational study.

The study, led by Washington State University, looked at issues and interests with pumped storage hydropower, including concerns with tribal cultural resources, wildlife and land. Now, a new draft report is out from the informational study. 

The study looked at closed loop pumped storage hydropower, mostly because it creates less concern with water availability and aquatic life, and it’s where the industry seems to be headed, said Karen Janowitz, the study lead with WSU’s Energy Program.

That means pumped storage projects don’t continuously take water from a river. For pumped storage projects to work, developers build two reservoirs, one up high and one at a lower elevation. When there is extra energy on the grid, they pump water from the lower pool to the higher pool. 

Then, when more power is needed, they release water from the higher pool. It flows through pipes and turbines to generate energy, especially when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Experts say more batteries are needed to store variable power from wind and solar projects as more carbon-free energy projects come online in the region.

Washington has a goal of receiving energy that’s completely free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. 

“ Pumped storage hydropower is a tool that can be used to achieve that end,” Janowitz said. “It exists in the U.S. now, and it’s a proven energy storage technology.”

The draft report has several recommendations from the study for future pumped storage hydropower in the state. 

“ We determined a few recommendations or suggestions that could help with developing pump storage hydro in a way that … does no harm …  to the tribal cultural resources and, minimal harm to some of the others,” Janowitz said.

Those recommendations included consulting with tribes and local communities as soon as possible, researching future water availability and looking to tribal groups and state agencies for low-impact guidelines. The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are both developing renewable energy development guidelines, Janowitz said.

The draft report recommended siting pumped storage hydropower projects with at least a half-mile buffer away from shorelines. That information came from leaders at  the state Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation and some tribes, who noted those areas “ could be rich in traditional cultural resources,” Janowitz said.

In an informational meeting about the draft report, Lance Caputo, a siting specialist with the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, said the half-mile buffer could be a “great rule of thumb” that could also apply to other projects.

“It is quantifiable and easily applied. It’s important we consider tribal concerns, especially when tribal nations are reluctant to identify with specificity traditional cultural sites. Knowing (traditional cultural properties) may be or often are along major waterways is helpful,” Caputo wrote in the Zoom meeting’s comments section.

In addition to traditional cultural properties, the report also considered water availability and terrestrial ecology, two of the bigger concerns people raised during informational meetings.

Study authors did generate maps using data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. They factored in the buffer, where other wind and solar projects were already planned or built and transmission lines. Then, they removed any potential areas on reservations from the map.

They came up with 276 theoretical pumped storage areas.

However, some people worried the maps could become de facto siting recommendations. 

“ Maps have a tendency to take on life of their own once published, and how do you prevent this from basically being a list of recommended sites?” said Pete McHugh, with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “It does seem at odds with the stated not proposing specific sites outside of the report.”

Study leaders say that’s not the intent – and there needs to be a lot more on-the-ground work. 

“ This is kind of a representation to think about that and to look at as people start exploring possible sites,” Janowitz said.

Tribes, including the Yakama Nation, have raised many concerns over a proposed pumped storage project near Goldendale, Washington. They say, if developed, the project would be built on top of numerous important cultural resources. Developers have proposed mitigation measures that Yakama Nation leaders and band members say won’t change the “irreversible harm” the project could do.

“ There are no specific pumped storage hydro projects being promoted, sited or proposed in this study,” Janowitz said.

People can comment on the draft report through 5 p.m. June 5. Comments can be emailed or submitted on a commentable PDF form. Comments on the form aren’t anonymous, Janowitz said.

The final report is due to the Washington state Legislature by June 30.