Klamath Falls, Oregon – Scheduled to start building in 2024 close to Klamath Falls, the Swan Lake energy storage project is innovative renewable energy initiative. Under Rye Development’s direction, the project features two artificial lakes at different heights to run a pumped storage system to efficiently control power supply.
This project’s primary concept is moving water to a higher elevation lake when extra power is available in the grid and then releasing it back down to create electricity during times of maximum demand. This approach is essential since it makes up for the sporadic character of some renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind farms, which are not producing constantly.
Rye Development representative Erik Steimle underlined the growing demand for such energy solutions.
“Having this project available in the late 2020s, early 2030s is really the time period when more and more utilities are needing this type of energy storage in the system to balance out intermittent renewables and provide reliable grid services,” said Steimle.
Swan Lake, owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, also behind one of the first offshore wind projects off Northern California’s Humboldt Bay, seeks to be a dynamic ‘electricity bank.’ Unlike conventional lithium-ion battery storage systems, this facility will let local utilities save extra power and use it to close energy supply shortages. Steimle said that whereas lithium-ion batteries must be replaced around every 15 years, steimle’s storing method is more long-lasting.
Still, the project presents difficulties, especially for nearby indigenous groups. The Klamath Tribes have voiced concerns regarding the possible effects of development on sites of cultural significance including burial sites. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has responded with a $40 million compensation package, but this has generated mixed reactions among the tribe; some members advocate a community-wide referendum on the issue.
When completed, the Swan Lake project should provide roughly nine-and- a-half hours of daily electricity for approximately 125,000 residences. Joining a limited number of already-existing facilities primarily built in the 1970s, this would be among the first new pumped storage projects in decades.
The project awaits last clearance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Swan Lake might establish a standard for next renewable energy storage projects throughout the United States with its creative approach to energy storage and great possible advantages.
