Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project No. 14227

    Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore (photo courtesy of State Water Board staff)

    Applicant: Nevada Hydro Company, Inc.
    County: Riverside and San Diego
    Water Quality Certification Status: Awaiting application
    Waterbody: Lake Elsinore and San Juan Creek
    FERC Licensing Process: Traditional Licensing Process

    Project Description: On October 2, 2017, Nevada Hydro Company, Inc. (Nevada Hydro) filed an application for a new license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage (LEAPS) Project (FERC Project No. 14227). If approved, the LEAPS Project would be located on Lake Elsinore and San Juan Creek and the surrounding area in Riverside and San Diego Counties, near the city of Lake Elsinore, California. The LEAPS Project would occupy approximately 845 acres of the Cleveland National Forest.

    The LEAPS Project would be operated as a pump storage project. Pumped storage projects move water between two reservoirs located at different elevations (i.e., an upper and lower reservoirs) to store energy and generate electricity. The proposed LEAPS Project involves construction of new Decker Canyon reservoir (upper reservoir) and use of the existing Lake Elsinore (lower reservoir). The powerhouse for the proposed LEAPS Project would include two, single-stage reversible pump-turbine units, with a total installed capacity of 500 megawatts (MW). The Project would generate an average of 1,560,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually.

    Related Documents

    Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage (LEAPS) Project, FERC No. 11858