Fears and Concerns

By all means it's totally out of character for me to use term's like fears and concerns I would normally say something like FEAR stands for False Evidence that Apears Real. If the hydro electric pump storage project goes in, the landscape of Cliffside will certainly be changed. The best we can hope for is they will stick to the original plan and keep it almost in its entirety underground. that would leave us with a lake directly under launch in part above the ground using the cliff and a build up area to create the huge lower reservoir. At this point there seems to be no way to secure a lower Landing zone. (That doesn't mean we will not have a place to land.) We will certainly be able to land in a some reduced area and out by the river. As the lower field will be use for equipment staging and temporary housing for the construction phase and then to my understanding maybe sold for industrial commercial use. There will be a large power control station at the east end of the reservoir along with additional high power tension lines. Now coming to my biggest concern as this project has changed hands in less than 3 Years and will certainly change again and the original cost of something like 2.4 billion dollars now coming in at a rumoured 4 billion dollars there is certainly going to be a huge push to cut cost. especially when you are looking at the lifespan of the project being a mere 80 years. it doesn't take much emagenation to think that down the line they would scrap plans of being concerned about conserving the landscape and run all there electrical and piping above ground to make the project affordable. ( Again I truly hope this to be entirely false.) The wind mills prove that there is no desire to uphold the natural landscape. This would definitely interfere with flying there as we know it. As of right now from what I can tell the project holds rights to about 50 feet of launch not a place we want big power lines. know that it is my greatest hope that these are all irrational fears and concerns. and even more so that this project in it's entirety fall to the way side and never manifest. Cliffside is a world class flying sight and in all reality our only east wind site. I will try to post more at a later date as things develop. For now this is my attempt to answer your questions. To get the full story scroll to the bottom click older post and read it all in succession if you are interested. thank you.

Pump storage project changes hands

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), on behalf of Copenhagen Infrastructure IV K/S, has acquired ownership of the Goldendale (Klickitat County, Washington) closed-loop pump storage hydro project. The project was previously owned and in development under a joint venture between Rye Development (Rye) and National Grid project that secured its 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license in 2019. It appears that Rye Development is still involved. I have added the link to CIP to the side bar, but who or what combination of companies will end up with the project by the the time it is all said and done is unknown and speculation at this point which was one of my fears sense the beginning. In the next post I will try to highlight on that.

Voice your plea here

You can voice your respectful and courteous  concerns and plea's here. 

Click Here 

Dear, Kelly! Thank you for taking the time to tell Governor Inslee and Senators Cantwell and Murray to oppose Rye Development’s proposed Goldendale Pumped-Storage Project. Tribes and Native Americans shape the Columbia River basin's past, present, and future. Columbia Riverkeeper works in solidarity with many tribal nations. We encourage you to learn about the rich, diverse cultures of Columbia Basin tribal people, as well as their sovereignty and governments, in their own words.  Thank you, Simone Anter, Staff Attorney simone@columbiariverkeeper.org

Columbia Riverkeeper 407 Portway Ave #301  | Hood River, Oregon 97031 541-387-3030 | info@columbiariverkeeper.org

Update of Cliffside

 

Project Status Update

At the state level, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has initiated the state environmental review process for the Goldendale Pumped Storage Project. Ecology has determined that the Project may lead to significant adverse impacts on the environment and is requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Now until February 12, 2021, help Riverkeeper identify what Ecology must include in the EIS, sign our petition today.

At the federal level, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has also begun the federal environmental review process and requested scoping comments to determine what to include in it’s environmental review and what level of environmental review to conduct. Read Riverkeeper’s and Tribal Nations’ comments urging FERC to conduct an in-depth environment review that addresses the Project’s wide-ranging impacts to cultural resources, environmental justice, and natural resources.

Comments 

• Columbia Riverkeeper, Et. Al., NEPA Scoping Comments 
• Yakama Nation NEPA Scoping Comments
• CTUIR NEPA Scoping Comments

Columbia Riverkeeper’s Q & A breaks down why environmentalists should stand in solidarity with tribal nations and oppose this so-called “green energy” project. 

What’s proposed?

Rye Development wants to build a massive pumped storage hydroelectric project along the Columbia River’s banks in Klickitat County, Washington, near the John Day Dam. The Goldendale Energy Storage Hydroelectric Project would be the largest of its kind in the Northwest.[1]

Rye would excavate two reservoirs: the hilltop reservoir would span 60-acres and the lower reservoir would cover 63-acres (i.e., surface area). Pumped storage generates hydroelectricity for peak periods of demand. When electricity on the grid is abundant, Rye would pump water from the lower reservoir into the higher one. Then, when there’s demand for electricity, Rye would release water in the upper reservoir through turbines and back into the lower reservoir. The energy-generating capacity: 1200 megawatts. 

Rye claims the $2 billion project would be complete by 2028. 

Photo Courtesy by Rye Development's Draft License Application

Have impacted tribal nations weighed-in on Rye’s proposal?

 Yes. The Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakama Nation (Yakama Nation) has opposed this development from the start. The development would impact sacred cultural resources, “including archeological, ceremonial, burial petroglyph, monumental and ancestral use sites."[2]

Here’s how a Yakama Nation representative explained the Tribe’s opposition at a Washington State Senate hearing in early 2020: 

"As you’re aware, the Columbia River was dammed over the last century. In doing so, that impacted many of our rights, interests and resources. All of these things have been impacted: our fish sites, our villages, our burial sites up and down the river. This is another example of energy development, development in the West, that comes at a cost to the Yakama Nation."

Rye’s development would directly interfere with at least nine culturally significant sites to the Yakama Nation and other cultural property. Cultural property is defined as “the tangible and intangible effects of an individual or group of people that define their existence, and place them temporally and geographically in relation to their belief systems and their familial and political groups, providing meaning to their lives.[3]

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) also weighed in during the initial licensing process. Due to the intensely sensitive nature of cultural resources, letters submitted by CTUIR may not be accessed by the public in order to safeguard any information about cultural resource locations and items that they may contain. 

Does the development use a lot of water? 

Yes. Initial fill for the reservoirs would use 2.93 million gallons of Columbia River water. Rye would also use roughly 1.2 million gallons of water per year from the Columbia for “periodic makeup” to offset losses from evaporation and leakage. 

There is also the possibility of refill if the reservoirs need to be emptied for repair. Rye calls the project “closed-loop,” a misleading description when you consider the company’s plans to use Columbia River water to sustain the reservoirs.

Does the Pacific Northwest need this development to combat climate change?

No. According to a third-party economic analysis, the development cannot provide renewable energy integration and replacement capacity to support regional decarbonization goals affordably and reliably.4 Why? A combination of rising construction costs and decreasing open-market energy prices. 

How does the development impact wildlife? 

The project will have serious impacts on wildlife in the area. The introduction of two large water surfaces will attract many birds to the area, which is located near a large wind energy project. Wildlife biologists have raised concerns that the reservoirs would attract more birds to the area and increase wind-turbine bird kills. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has repeatedly discussed the presence of bald and golden eagle and prairie falcon nests in the area. In describing the history of golden eagle deaths in the area, USFWS explained:

"This history of mortalities shows a landscape already compromised by wind power infrastructure. Currently golden eagles appear to have a difficult time navigating the wind currents affected by existing wind power infrastructure near the project area. The potential of the proposed Project to further alter the remaining laminar wind currents lends credence that resulting impacts to avian species would not be exclusive to wind power production in the area."5]

USFWS has also voiced concerns that the developer’s plans to mitigate habitat loss and manage wildlife appear to look more like minimizing impacts rather than mitigating impacts.6

Is the project financially viable? 

Pumped storage requires significant upfront capital investment and lengthy permitting processes. Experts question the financial viability of the project. Rocky Mountain Econometrics (RME) developed a model of market forces and financial viability of the project, based on data provided by the developer. RME concluded: 

"It is possible that the Goldendale Pump Storage Project is being proposed with full knowledge that it will fail. Further, bankruptcy may be an unstated but integral part of the Goldendale business plan as a means of shedding sufficient debt to survive in the current wholesale power market. These results, as detailed in the report’s Appendix Alternative Debt Structures, give us pause as to whether any adverse impacts to public values such as water quality, water quantity, flow regime, fish and wildlife, tribal and cultural resources, surrounding communities, and/or recreation are worth the risk and generated energy storage."

Bottomline: the developers cause the loss of irreplaceable cultural resources and environmental destruction for speculative benefits.

Did the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) deny a pumped storage proposal at a similar location?

Yes. FERC denied a different developer a license in 2016. Developers want to build the lower reservoir at the site of a former aluminum smelter. The problem: toxic pollution in soil and groundwater. FERC concluded that developers should complete the cleanup before securing a license for new development. 

What’s the regulatory process to build a development of this scale?

Rye needs a hydropower license from FERC and a Clean Water Act 401 water quality certification from the Wash. Dept. of Ecology. Rye already secured water rights for the project. The project will also undergo federal National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act reviews. Rye estimates FERC will release a draft Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement in summer 2021. After the FERC process, the developer will need to apply to the Bonneville Power Administration for transmission interconnect approval. 

What can I do to stand in solidarity with tribal nations opposed to this energy development?

Sign our petition asking Gov. Inslee and Senators Murray and Cantwell to stand in solidarity with tribal nations who oppose this hydroelectric development. 

What can you do ?

At this point. Here is what you all could and should do at this time.
You can submit your concerns with the hydroelectric pump storage project here.
Please be thoughtful. Addressing our major concerns is that all major electrical lines stay subterranean and do not impede or cross our flight path from Reed's Property (aka) Cliffside launch.

1.) You can file an eComment with the FERC
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp file under docket P-14861
Please be professional and respectful do not in anyway issue ultimatums or any such nonsense this is happening we just want to insure we can be good neighbors and coexist.
2.) You can send comments directly to National Grid and Rye Development at
Nathan.Sandvig@nationalgrid.com  and or
erik@ryedevelopment.com
3.) Know that before writing in it would be helpful for you to review the content on this blog thanks Kelly Kellar.

UP Date

The pump storage project is now in the study phase after that it will undergo the federal study. All this will be done before ground breaking begins. The plans have been detailed out a bit more so we have a clearer picture of what the site will look like upon completion. National Grid Ventures and Rye Development maintain there stance that this will be fully subterranean including the power lines needed North of E-14. The updated plans show the power lines in and out of the combination pump / turbine to be ran through 2 separate tunnels that come from south of E-14 just under launch and one slightly to the east again south of E-14 and run underground and east along the ridge and up the big ridge to the pump / turbine.

What will be are challenges ?
Yes there will be a large pond over 150 ft deep covered by black plastic balls and surrounded by a fence. A good deal of this pond is going to be a build up using the existing berm and a build up of the open valley side. There will be more power lines under launch. For the most part we should be unaffected. In all reality the construction of this project is not going to start for another 4 to 5 years but it is going to happen. This project has been looked at by different companies for 40 years and now with the huge push of federal government for green energy it is happening.
As long as Rye Development and National Grid hold up there plan of having all kept underground we will be mostly unaffected and free to keep flying.
Our part is to be good neighbors and be prepared and flexible if this all goes above ground.

Public meeting May 1rst 2019

April 5, 2019
Senator Wyden
Office of Senator Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: DATE AND LOCATION OF PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR THE GOLDENDALE
ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT, FERC NO. 14861
Senator Wyden,
On behalf of FFP Project 101, LLC (Applicant), Rye Development and National Grid will be hosting
meetings to discuss the Goldendale Energy Storage Project, as required by 18 CFR 4.38(b)(3). The
meetings will be held on May 1, 2019 and are open to resource agencies, tribes, local residents, and
other stakeholders.
The schedule is as follows:
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Initial meeting at the Goldendale Grange Hall
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Site Visit, meet at the Goldendale Grange Hall
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Second meeting at the Goldendale Grange Hall
Meeting Location Details
Both meetings are open to resource agencies, tribes, local residents, and other stakeholders. The same
project information will be presented by the developers and their consultants at both meetings. The 
meetings will be held at the Goldendale Grange Hall, which is located at 228 East Darland Street in 
Goldendale, Washington.
Site Visit Details
Individuals will need to provide their own transportation from the Goldendale Grange Hall to the project
area, and carpooling is encouraged.
Notice of the public meetings will run in The Goldendale Sentinel newspaper in Goldendale,
Washington, and in the Enterprise newspaper in White Salmon, Washington, during the week of April
15th. Copies of this public meetings notice are being mailed to entities listed in Attachment 1 of the NOI
with point of contact (POC) adjustments made based on comments received in response to the NOI/PAD.
A copy of this list has been appended to this letter.
Sincerely,
Erik Steimle
Vice President
Portland, Oregon