More than 2,400 feet above the Columbia River, high atop Goodnoe Hills in south central Washington, a reservoir could one day cover 61-acres of private land. Right now, cows graze underneath wind turbines, which gently swoosh overhead.
Down below, nearly at river level, a second 63-acre reservoir could one day stretch across a small section of a former aluminum smelter site. Developers plan to clean up the area, which is filled with contaminated material the smelter dumped.
These two reservoirs would be connected by concrete or steel-lined tunnels that would be burrowed into the sloped hillside, said Erik Steimle, vice president of Rye Development, which is developing the energy storage project.
This setup, known as a pumped storage project, will be key to implementing the Pacific Northwest’s renewable energy goals, Steimle said. These…