FERC News

FERC receives revised preliminary permit application for York Energy Storage project

FERC receives revised preliminary permit application for York Energy Storage project
(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission )

York Energy Storage LLC has submitted a revised preliminary permit application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the York Energy Storage water power project (P-15332).

The revised preliminary permit application was submitted to FERC on Jan. 15, in response to a deficiency letter issued Jan. 5.

The site for the project is near Chanceford Township in York County, Pa. York Energy Storage LLC said the project will be comprised of an existing lower reservoir, Lake Clarke owned by Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, with the construction of a new upper reservoir.

Lake Clarke, formed by Safe Harbor Dam has a storage capacity of 26,000 acre-feet, and the new upper reservoir would have the same storage capacity. A 44-foot-diameter shaft and tunnel trifurcating into three 20-foot-diameter steel-lined tunnels would lead to an underground powerhouse containing three 286 MW reversible pump-turbine units.

The proposed project is expected to connect to the PJM Interconnection via a new three-mile-long 500-kW transmission line.

At full capacity, the project can store full power for 12 hours. Overall efficiency of the project is expected to be 80%. At full output, the project is expected to generate 8,580 MWh over a 10-hour period per operating cycle.

The York Energy Storage project is anticipated to create 300 jobs during a five-year construction period and 25 permanent jobs for the life of the project (50 years).

The application said the proposed project was previously studied as the Cuff’s Run Pumped Storage project (P-10868), under a FERC preliminary permit filed in 1990 by Mid-Atlantic Energy Engineers.

The purpose of a preliminary permit is to preserve the rights of the permit holder to have the first priority in applying for a license for the project that is being studied. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permittee to access lands and does not authorize the permittee to undertake any land-disturbing activities. Permit conditions are framed to ensure the permittee does not tie up a site without pursuing in good faith a study of the project’s feasibility. If the project is found to be feasible, the permittee can use the data and information gathered to prepare an application for a license.