The District is not funding or building the project, explained general manager Mike Preston, but they agreed April 11 to contribute $30,000 toward an $80,000 preliminary feasibility analysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking for power if this project goes. We are asking for a cut of the revenues with a little cash investment because it\u2019s our neighborhood and our water right,\u201d Preston said of the cost-share.<\/p>\n
The complicated process is in its very initial stages, and has already led to a turf war, with the district coming out ahead.<\/p>\n
Last year an engineering firm that is now part of Tetra Tech, based in Pasadena, Calif., submitted an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to study building a pumped-storage hydroelectricity plant at Plateau Creek.<\/p>\n
But DWCD, fearing it would be on the outside looking in at a large private project that involved McPhee Reservoir, submitted a competing bid claiming \u201cmunicipal preference.\u201d FERC agreed and awarded the feasibility permit to the local water district last summer.<\/p>\n
Permit in hand, DWCD put out a request for proposals for an investor willing to ante up an estimated $3 million to conduct the feasibility study. Preston explained being awarded the permit puts the district \u201cin the driver\u2019s seat, and puts us in a position to realize the benefits of a hydro-electric plant while making sure it is not detrimental to the Dolores Project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pumped-storage hydro-power is an innovative method of creating and then selling electricity to meet peak demand loads. The system would require two small reservoirs under 10,000 acre feet to be built on Plateau Creek, one above the other. A pumping system would be installed to deliver water from the lower reservoir to the upper, in essence \u201ccharging\u201d the system like a battery.<\/p>\n
When peak demand on the grid required extra power, the water from the upper level would be sent through a penstock that runs turbines, generating the additional electricity. The energy used for the pumps would create a net power loss, but the system increases revenues by selling electricity to the grid during periods of peak demand when prices are highest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are always looking for revenue sources to help maintain our high value infrastructure,\u201d Preston said.<\/p>\n
The proposed hydro-electricity plant would be a supplemental power source for gaps in green energy sources that occur when the wind doesn\u2019t blow or sun is not shining.<\/p>\n
The project is a non-consumptive water system, but there would be some minimal water losses due to evaporation from the two reservoirs.<\/p>\n
The district cannot afford, nor does it want, to build such a large project, expected to cost in excess of $300 million, according to industry data. The board cast the RFP to see if there were any takers for the feasibility study, in itself a massive undertaking involving federal and state permits, preliminary site engineering, and many environmental requirements.<\/p>\n
They got a hit from Tetra Tech, the same engineering firm who lost the FERC permit to the district, but they requested some help, Preston explained.<\/p>\n
Tetra Tech negotiated a deal with DWCD to cost share on a financial first step, called an \u201cinvestment memorandum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, they will use the money to try and court investors for the feasibility study,\u201d Preston said. \u201cThey have to figure out environmental issues, the scope of the project, if there is a market for peak demand, capacity of transmission lines and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district will benefit from the study\u2019s engineering findings, and will retain a legal foothold in the future of the project, which was first proposed in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m neutral about it, not sure if I should be mad or enthusiastic, but we felt we had to be proactive in order to have some leverage and control,\u201d said DWCD board member Don Schwindt. \u201cThis possibility has been laying in the weeds for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district\u2019s investment will help provide more information on a private energy gamble with an uncertain future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could potentially produce some revenue (for the district), and it won\u2019t damage any present water users,\u201d Schwindt said.<\/p>\n