Pumped Storage Is Having a Moment. Will It Shift Renewables?
Chuck Sensiba, a partner with Troutman Pepper, is quoted in the Energy Wire article, " Pumped Storage Is Having a Moment. Will It Shift Renewables?"
Still, FERC would need to determine what analyses or reviews could be streamlined or eliminated in those cases, said Charles Sensiba, a partner at Troutman Pepper and a lead negotiator for the hydropower industry on the package of reforms.
"It will be a challenge to get them through in just two or three years' time," Sensiba said. "There are some ideas that the legislation puts forward, such as reduced studies, a streamlined NEPA [process] … but most of the progress on getting those projects through in two or three years' time would be something resolved by a new [FERC] rule."
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FirstLight is currently in the process of relicensing its Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station in Massachusetts. Typically, FERC licenses for hydropower projects last for 30 to 50 years, after which point they must be renewed. Today, about 30 percent of the installed capacity of nonfederal hydropower projects is currently up for relicensing, Sensiba said.