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SMUD has not decided whethe it will buildthe project, which it estimatesw would cost $553 million to $855 million. SMUD includesd the plan with its request for federalk reauthorization of the existing hydroelectric system so future construction wouldxbe possible. If built, the Iowa Hill project wouldd expandthe power-production capacity of SMUD’ Upper American River Project by aboutf 42 percent, enough extr a energy for up to 400,000 Just as important, the timing of the power productioh would be unusually flexible for a renewabls power source. Conventional hydroelectrix dams release water downstream through a powere turbine thatproduces electricity.
It’z a one-shot deal: The water leaves the reservoir andis gone. Iowa Hill woulc be a “pumped-storage project.” The utility would essentiallhy recycle water from Slab Creek Reservoir by pumpingv it up to a smallerf reservoir at the top of the hill and releasing back downhillk througha powerhouse. The projecrt would use more energy to pump water uphill than it woul produce by lettingit out. But it would act kind of like arechargeables battery, holding power so it’s available when electricit from other sources is more expensive or unavailable. SMUD woulr probably pump water uphill in the evening when its wind projects are spinning with Delta breezes.
It would release water duringf the day when electricity demand andprices “The energy we use to pump up will be very cheapo energy, what we call off-peak energy,” said Davidc Hanson, SMUD’s hydrorelicensing project manager. “We’re taking cheap energy and we’re saving it until it’sd more valuable.” The project proposal ran into some early opposition from environmentalists worried it would harm fish and neighbors concerned it would make the Eldorado NationallForest ugly. River advocates worried watef stored in the hilltop reservoir would warm up in the sun and changee the temperature of the reservoit and river below when itwas released.
SMUD’s modeling showed the project would not affect Hanson said. SMUD would nevere drain the upperreservoir completely, so the warm waterd at the top would not drain out. But just in environmentalists asked SMUD to sign a settlement agreemen that said SMUD will run the project withou t harming fish habitat or recreationa l uses ofSlab Creek. It’s up to SMUD’a engineers to design a project that meetethose qualifications, said Ron Stork, senior policy advocate with Friendsd of the River.
“There’s certainly an both in the environmentak communityand generally, in having our energu production go easier on fossil fuels,” Stork “Where we landed was if SMUD can make bindinv commitments to not screw up the resources of the reservoirr and the fisheries, then we ough to let them give it a try.” The aestheticf impacts might be tougher to The has standards for visual impact of projects in the Eldorado National Hanson said SMUD has been consulting with the Foresy Service and people living near Iowa Hill abourt ways to reduce the project’s such as coloring the reservoifr berm green and making the top unevenn instead of a straight line.
SMUD stilol needs a water qualitu permit from the state Water ResourceseControl Board. Hanson said he thinkxs SMUD will obtain that permit and the will approv the project license in the second halfof 2009. Designing the project and conducting studiexson transportation, fire protection and othert issues would take about three years, so SMUD’w staff might have a completed plan to take to the utility’d board of directors for a vote by Hanson said.
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