NHA applauds Secretary Chu's comments on pumped storage

[Fledermaus]

Washington, DC (February 24, 2009) – The following is a statement from National Hydropower Association executive director Linda Church Ciocci on comments by Energy Secretary Steven Chu at the Center for American Progress Clean Energy Project's Building the New Economy event in Washington, D.C., yesterday:

"The National Hydropower Association welcomes Secretary Chu's comments about the integral role pumped-storage technology must play in our national plan to expand our clean-energy resources and integrate variable renewable-energy resources into the transmission grid.

"As the Secretary points out, the country has only limited resources for storing energy today, with most of it coming from the 20,355 MW of existing pumped-storage capacity. With thousands of megawatts of new wind and solar technologies planned for the near-future, expanding this storage capacity will be a high priority.

"Through our new pumped storage council, NHA is working on strategies that will help speed development of this critical capability. We are reaching out to all sectors of the energy industry, to the Administration, and to Congress to expand understanding of this technology and create sound policies that will serve all Americans.

"One of our primary goals is to craft incentives that attract investors and encourage rapid development of new pumped storage projects. Right now, the federal government has no program to spur expansion of pumped storage capacity. NHA is advocating for investment tax credits or other similar measures that can incentivize pumped storage development immediately.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/national-hydropower-association-3340/news/article/2009/02/nha-applauds-secretary-chus-comments-on-pumped-storage

[phantom power]

1. I wonder what the environmental impact of that will be.