Controversial Lake Elsinore hydroelectric project blocked by federal government
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has blocked a controversial $2 billion hydroelectric plant near the Lake Elsinore shoreline after the developer failed to provide requested environmental studies and a construction plan, among other things.
Vista-based Nevada Hydro Co. has proposed building a 200-foot-high dam above the lake and a 500-megawatt, underground power plant with turbines on 845 acres of U.S. Forest Service. Water would be pumped from the lake to a man-made reservoir when demand for electricity is low, with water flowing back to the lake when demand is high. The project has been named the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project, or LEAPS.
The city of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, environmentalists and local residents oppose the project.
In a letter dated Dec. 9, FERC’s director of hydropower licensing, Vince Yearick, informed Nevada Hydro’s president that the commission was dismissing its project application because Nevada Hydro failed to provide the Forest Service with recreation, groundwater, seismic, and geotechnical studies, as well as a construction plan.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/controversial-lake-elsinore-hydroelectric-project-blocked-by-federal-government/ar-AARYpQU