Federal regulators reject controversial pumped storage project proposed for Sonoma Coast

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, December 19, 2023

[excerpt:]

Federal regulators have denied a requested preliminary permit for a highly controversial hydropower facility on coastal land near Fort Ross, all but shutting down a proposal that aroused anger and opposition throughout the region.

In a six-page decision issued Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission noted a wide range of public and governmental objections to the proposed project, its potential environmental impacts and ramifications for protected public lands, including the Fort Ross State Historic Park and the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary offshore.

. . .

The preliminary permit would have allowed Hydro Green Energy to explore the feasibility of building what’s called a pumped storage facility in the vicinity of Fort Ross State Historic Park. Had the plan proved viable, HGE would have had first dibs on a federal license for the site.

The project would have included a 23-acre saltwater reservoir at high elevation around Seaview and Fort Ross roads to store ocean water drawn in through offshore intake equipment. It would then have been piped inland, underground and pumped vertically 1,500 feet uphill, when renewable power was readily available.

. . .

Sonoma County supervisors, as they finalized a Local Coastal Plan for the wider region, inserted language especially designed to ensure such a project was never built.

. . .

Richard Charter, director of the Coastal Coordination Program for The Ocean Foundation and a lead critic of the proposal, put it more succinctly. “Although the applicant technically has 30 days in which to reapply, FERC has now made a compelling set of arguments in rejecting the proposal,” Charter said.

. . .

To read the entire article, visit The Press Democrat:
Federal regulators reject controversial pumped
storage project proposed for Sonoma Coast

For more information about the initial proposal, see:
Big Oil Targets Sonoma Coast and Marine Sanctuary