Bill allowing new Salt River Project reservoir in Arizona clears US House committee
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A House committee on Wednesday endorsed legislation that would allow Salt River Project to build a new reservoir near Apache Lake to be used for the sole purpose of power generation.
SRP has been comparing two sites in canyons high above Apache Lake where it could build a new reservoir that would function like an electric battery, releasing water through a hydropower dam and into Apache Lake when electricity is needed for SRP customers in the Phoenix area.
SRP would use surplus power on the grid, likely from solar plants, to pump water from Apache Lake about 1,000 feet back up the mountains to refill the 100-200 acre reservoir.
Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., introduced a bill that would allow for the project by extending land available for power projects for two additional miles on the south side of Apache Lake, where the two sites are being evaluated. Reps. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., are cosponsors.
Both possible sites include U.S. Forest Service land that would be put under the control of the Bureau of Reclamation for the project. The legislation excludes land in Tonto National Monument or the Superstition Wilderness from the area to be impacted.
The House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 1607 on Wednesday by unanimous consent.
It now awaits a full vote by the House of Representatives. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
"This will increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy in central Arizona,” Schweikert said in a written statement after the vote. “With our state's economy and population rapidly growing, it's absolutely critical that we embrace long-term domestic technologies to ensure lower utility costs for our local communities.”
Stanton referenced recent power demand records breaking in Arizona amid the heat wave as a reason to support the project.
“Not only does pumped storage help integrate renewable energy into our power grid, it provides greater flexibility and reliability for the entire system," Stanton said in a statement after the vote. "And, importantly, it lowers utility costs for Arizona families and businesses when they need it most.”
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Reservoir would help supply power
SRP is adding new solar plants to its grid and also planning several large lithium-ion batteries to accompany them. The batteries will allow SRP to store the electricity generated during daylight hours to supply customers after sunset.
The "pumped-storage" reservoir would work in a similar fashion, releasing water and generating electricity when it is most needed on the grid.
SRP anticipates each refill of this reservoir could generate approximately enough power to serve 250,000 homes for 10 hours.
SRP maintains Apache's water level at near full via Horse Mesa Dam. That fact, combined with the topography, makes the area ideal for such a project, officials said.
Already, SRP uses something called "pumpback" to generate power from Horse Mesa Dam at Apache Lake and Mormon Flat Dam at Canyon Lake.
Pumpback uses electricity when demand is low to run water uphill through turbines on those dams. Then SRP releases the water to generate power later when demand is high and it needs the power for customers.
Pumped storage is slightly different than the existing pumpback facilities because it uses an additional reservoir rather than trading water between existing reservoirs.
The new project would have the capacity to generate more than six times the power of those pumpback sites.
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The new reservoir would operate with power generation as the primary goal, without interrupting water deliveries downstream, which is the primary purpose of the existing dams on the Salt River.
The new reservoir would hold about one-sixth the volume of Canyon Lake — substantially smaller than Apache or Roosevelt.
The pumped-storage pool would hold 10,000 to 20,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons. Apache holds about 245,000 acre-feet. Roosevelt holds more than 1.5 million.
Water users would notice Apache Lake rising and falling a bit as the new reservoir is filled and emptied.
SRP has signed a contract for engineering and design work. The final costs are not yet known because SRP officials are still evaluating the site, size and design.
SRP would locate the power-generating facilities near either Roosevelt Dam or Horse Mesa Dam, the two dams that bookend Apache Lake.
SRP would like to see the new facility online in 2032 when the Coronado Generating Station coal-fired power plant in eastern Arizona is scheduled to shut down.
Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Arizona SRP reservoir near Apache Lake moves forward in US House
