Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to support the Promoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act. If signed into law, the bill would give closed-loop hydropower projects an expedited process for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Closed-loop pumped storage hydropower projects generate power from reservoirs using elevation change as opposed to open-loop, which exist in free-flowing rivers. Peters led the effort to craft the final language of the bill which helped it earn the bipartisan support it needed to pass.

“More electricity from hydropower is key to meeting our clean energy goals, and reducing harmful emissions that pollute our air and water and contribute to climate change,” Rep. Scott Peters said.

Peters continued, “It will consider interagency input through a new task force and provide appropriate protection for wildlife and endangered species, while helping us grow emissions free energy.

“In San Diego, where large rivers and typical hydropower generation are less common, closed-loop hydropower offers an innovative solution and can have other benefits to the region’s energy and reservoir systems.

“We must continue to have productive, bipartisan conversations like these that produce the ultimate goal of streamlining the regulatory process so that hydropower projects can be approved more quickly while still meeting high environmental standards.”

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 Click HERE or above to watch Rep. Peters speak about utilizing hydropower.