"Plan for Hydroelectric Facility Moving Forward" is the headline from Union Tribune reporter Rob Nikolewski regarding the San Vicente Reservoir pumped hydro (PH) storage project. A statement by Neena Kuzmich, San Diego County Water Authority project engineer, "our goal is to have this facility online in 2030." The article states the City of San Diego is partnering with the County of San Diego to provide 500 megawatts of capacity for eight hours or 4000 megawatt-hours of long-duration energy storage to California's electric grid. Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables and the Kiewit construction and engineering firm (BHE Kiewit) are in negotiation with the County Water Authority to build and operate the facility. The article describes pumped hydro and includes a section for opposition arguments. Notable is that pumped hydro has been in use for more than a century. The reporter includes the nearby Lake Hodges to Water Authority Olivenhain's Reservoir example generating 40 megawatts of on demand power. Other examples include; Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County (1,331 megawatts), Helms in Fresno County (1,212 megawatts), and Eastwood in Fresno County (200 megawatts). With separate unit operations of PH storage and RO desalination in operation in San Diego County, it would seem IPHROS is inevitable. The key question is, will it be soon enough for southern California? The article statement contact is Neena Kuzmich, San Diego County Water Authority project engineer.
Source: San Diego Union Tribune report Rob Nikolewski Feb 4, 2022.
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