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Applicants granted four-year extension of FERC permit for Sweetwater Pumped Storage Project

Applicants granted four-year extension of FERC permit for Sweetwater Pumped Storage Project

Sweetwater Energy Storage LLC and the Ute Mountain Ute have been granted a four-year extension on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit for the 600 MW Sweetwater Pumped Storage Project (P-15008).

The project is proposed to be located in San Juan County, New Mexico. The preliminary permit was issued in April 2020 and expires April 1, 2024. In February 2024, the applicants filed for a four-year extension of the existing preliminary permit. The request was granted March 20, 2024. FERC said “section 5(b) of the Federal Power Act allows for a preliminary permit term to be extended once for not more than four additional years if the Commission finds that the permittee has carried out activities under the permit in good faith and with reasonable diligence.”

In annual progress reports, the applicants have conducted a reconnaissance-level engineering study, discussed long-term agreements associated with project development, conducted market outreach, completed a Class 1 cultural resource inventory, submitted an application for interconnection for the project and made progress toward identifying fill water source options, FERC said. In their most recent progress report, the applicants noted their intent to prepare a pre-application document and notice of intent to initiate FERC’s licensing process for the proposed project.

Per the 2020 preliminary permit issued, the Sweetwater project would consist of a new upper and lower reservoir occupying the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation and Bureau of Land Management Land. The upper reservoir would consist of a 40-foot-high, 9,000-foot-long dam and a 120-acre reservoir with a total storage capacity of 5,000-acre-feet at a normal maximum operating elevation of 6,770 feet above mean sea level (msl). The lower reservoir would consist of a 130-foot-high, 1,700-foot-long dam and a 163-acre reservoir with a total storage capacity of 5,000-acre-feet at a normal maximum operating elevation of 5,685 feet msl.

The proposed project would also include construction of two 5,000-foot-long, 14-foot-diameter headrace tunnels; a 1,200-foot-long, 14-foot-diameter vertical shaft; two 3,300-foot-long, 16-foot-diameter tailrace tunnels; a 500-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, by 50-foot-high powerhouse housing three 200-MW pump-turbine generators; and a 9.3-mile-long, 345-kV transmission line.

The project would have an estimated average annual generation of 1,051,200 MWh.

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.