rPlus files for 1-GW pumped-storage project in Nevada

Utah-based rPlus Hydro LLLP said on Wednesday that for the second time since the start of the year, it has filed a Final License Application for a gigawatt-scale pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in the US.

The application for the so-called License for Major Unconstructed Project was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and concerns the 1,000-MW White Pine project located in White Pine County, Nevada.

“From this location, the project would help the state meet peak power needs in its northern and southern load areas, and help stabilize the grid, while making the most effective use of renewable energy sources. With planned third-party transmission build-outs, the White Pine project will sit at the intersection of regional energy markets. It’s hard to imagine a more strategic location for this project,” said CEO Matthew Shapiro.

If it passes the environmental review and licensing process, the project will pour more than USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.36bn) into Nevada’s energy infrastructure and will provide 8 hours of energy storage at its full output. This equals about an eighth of the state’s peak power demand on a hot summer day.

Construction work could begin as early as 2025.

According to rPlus, this new development is one of only a handful of pumped-storage projects to achieve this milestone in the past two decades. One of the others is the 900-MW Seminoe project in Wyoming for which the company filed an application in January.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.945)

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