A pumpback hydroelectric plant in Fremont County is moving toward development and could be in operation by 2014. Mark Morley, a Colorado Springs developer, said the project could provide peak electric power that would complement the development of wind power in the Arkansas Valley and solar power in the San Luis Valley because it would be located near transmission lines that tie into the grid for several power suppliers. A reservoir and the pipeline associated with the project also could provide benefits to water users in Fremont County, although there are no contracts yet...
The plan involves building a 12,000-15,000 acre-foot reservoir above Brush Hollow Reservoir near Penrose. A second reservoir above that one would serve as a forebay. Water from the forebay would drop 700 feet, generating electricity as it moves through a turbine during peak demand times. During off-peak times, usually at night when power demand is low, pumps would move water from the lower reservoir back to the forebay. The plant would have the capacity to generate 400 megawatts of power, six hours a day, 365 days of the year, Morley said. The cost of about $640 million, or $1.6 million per megawatt, is significantly higher than a natural gas peaking plant, which typically are about $1 million per megawatt to build, Morley said. Power would be available to utilities up and down the Front Range. However, a natural gas plant would require at least $130 million a year in fuel to operate, while the pumps that move water to the forebay in the hydro project could use electricity generated by wind turbines at night - typically a time of low demand when wind turbines have to be curtailed, Morley said. "The cost of natural gas is only going to go up and there could be carbon taxes in the future," Morley said.
The net impact for the environment would be the elimination of 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, when compared with natural gas peaking plants, according to studies provided by Morley. "The storage (of water) allows us to eliminate the need for fossil fuel," Morley said. Simply put, peaking plants are needed as more wind and solar projects are developed. Wind power is available only when the wind is blowing, usually 35 percent of the time. Solar power is available less than 50 percent of the time. Peak demand times also pose challenges for coal-burning plants, which can't ramp up as quickly. For instance, the power needs of the Denver area can shift as much as 100 megawatts in one day. The Bureau of Reclamation operates the Mount Elbert pumpback hydroelectric plant at Twin Lakes to fill those types of needs, and the Cabin Creek project near Georgetown has been meeting peak power needs for more than 40 years. Nuclear plants, which are now being proposed for the Arkansas Valley in a couple of locations, also would need peaking power, since they are relatively more inflexible than even coal plants...
Morley added some storage for local water users to the plan to accommodate regional needs. In addition to Fremont County users who now lack storage, downstream agricultural users could use the off-channel storage to hold water when Lake Pueblo fills, he said...
Morley plans to bring a 12- to 18-inch pipeline six miles north from a river intake near Florence to a reservoir that holds up to 15,000 acre-feet, considerably less than the 70,000 acre-feet envisioned in an earlier plan. The new plan also won't disturb Brush Hollow Reservoir, which in the earlier plan would have been bisected by a new dam...
He estimated it will take about three years to get the necessary permits and another 18 months to build the dams, pipelines and other structures associated with the project. Morley owns some water rights in the area, but not enough to fill the reservoir. He mentioned the possibility of leasing water, perhaps from Super Ditch, to initially fill the reservoir and then replacing evaporation loss with the local rights. There would also be an opportunity for area water users to lease space. The project is proceeding on its own track separately from a reservoir project near Pueblo Chemical Depot east of Pueblo, where the Morley family has a gravel pit operation at Stonewall Springs Ranch. That site has been identified as potential storage for a pipeline to water users in El Paso County.
