The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday (Feb. 15) denied preliminary permits for development of pumped hydro on Navajo tribal land, announcing a policy that projects on sovereign tribal lands must have tribal support. The rejection of preliminary permits came for energy storage projects, some of which would consist of multiple components, all on Navajo land in Arizona and New Mexico.
FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said FERC is “committed” to assuring that “tribal interests are carefully considered.” The new FERC policy follows that already in place at the U.S. Interior Department and other federal land management agencies. In February 2021, the commission granted a preliminary hydro permit to a 2.2 GW pumped storage project on both Navajo land and Interior Department Bureau of Reclamation land on the shore of Lake Powell, using transmission infrastructure of the closed coal-fired Navajo Generating Station.
Three of the projects FERC rejected, two in Arizona and one in New Mexico, were proposed by “Nature and People First,” a Massachusetts limited liability corporation founded by French energy entrepreneur Denis Payre. The Black Mesa project (Dockets P-15233-000, P-15234-000, P-15235-000) – three pumped storage facilities – would constitute a 1,500-MW closed-loop hydro generating system, using water from the San Juan and Colorado rivers and groundwater. Last July, 17 Navajo tribal chapters and grazing committees objected to the plan, which, they noted, would require nine reservoirs and 450,000 acre-feet of water.
Nature and People First also proposed a New Mexico project (Docket P-15293-001), Chuska Mountain in San Juan and McKinley counties. The Navajo Nation last December told FERC that “it appears the Applicant is aware the Project would be located on lands of the Navajo Nation, but they have failed to make necessary contact with the appropriate regulatory offices within the Navajo Nation Government.”
The firm also proposed a 3,000-MW Chuska Mountain North project (Docket P-15309-000) in Apache County, Ariz., using San Juan River water. Last September, again drawing Navajo fire, as the tribe claims rights to the river, a topic subject to long-running, convoluted, and not completely definitive litigation.
The final rejection was a project proposed by Rye Development LLC, a closed-loop pumped storage and run-of-river hydro developer headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla. Rye sought a preliminary permit for the Western Navajo Pumped Storage Project No. 1 and Western Navajo Pumped Storage Project No. 2 (Dockets P-15324-000, P-15315-000) in Coconino County, Ariz. entirely on Navajo land. In November 2023, Interior wrote to FERC outlining potential problems with the projects. Interior encouraged Rye to meet with the Navajo and other federal agencies on wildlife, water, and land resources.
The commission yesterday granted Rye preliminary permits for two projects in Curry County, Ore., 318-MW Elephant Rock Pumped Storage, and 500-MW Soldier Camp Pumped Storage, also known as Neptune Pumped Storage 1 and 2.
As the Federal Register highlights, “A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners’ express permission.” As of last December, FERC has licensed 24 pumped storage projects in 18 states, totaling 18,897 MW of capacity. The commission notes, “Most of these projects were authorized more than 30 years ago.”
–Kennedy Maize