September deadline for San Diego Water Authority’s pumped hydro RFP

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
An existing pumped hydro facility in North Carolina. Image: Duke Energy.

Potential developers for a 500MW pumped hydropower energy storage facility at a reservoir in San Diego have until mid-September to respond to a request for proposals (RfP).

Energy-Storage.News reported back in late April that San Diego Water Authority was gauging interest from industry in executing the vast project, which would net revenues that could lower water rates for consumers in California, while assisting in the integration of renewables, particularly solar PV. The project would be jointly owned by the Water Authority and the City of San Diego, which owns the site where the facility would be built.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The project to aid the drought-plagued region would be at the San Vicente Reservoir, with energy storage duration of between 5-8 hours. A new, smaller reservoir would be built uphill from San Vicente, with water pumped up to it during the day and released back down at night or during peak demand periods, providing energy for a cost of next to nothing as the running water runs turbines.

The RFP, which must be responded to by 12 September 2017, requires applicants to give details of their project teams, including their qualifications to undertake such a project. San Diego Water Authority will examine proposals in autumn and winter. Negotiations with a potential full-service team should begin by the end of this year, the Water Authority said. Anyone with questions about the RFP should get them in by 29 August.

The RFP can be viewed here.

Read Next

July 11, 2025
Allegro Energy, an Australian-based developer of water-based redox flow battery energy storage solutions, has claimed its microemulsion flow battery (MeFB) could be tailored to support the “exponential growth” of data centres.
July 10, 2025
IPP Lydian Energy has successfully closed on a US$233 million project financing for three battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Texas, US.
July 10, 2025
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has entered into a settlement agreement with IPP LS Power to direct cleanup after a lithium-ion battery fire at the company’s Gateway energy storage facility in San Diego, California. 
July 9, 2025
A news roundup focusing on TerraFlow’s recent partnership with Storion, JinkoSolar’s deployment of distributed systems in Massachusetts and a credit facility for Lightshift.
Premium
July 9, 2025
Coval Infrastructure has become the latest developer to submit an application with the California Energy Commission (CEC), as part of the regulator’s opt-in certification scheme.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter