Lake Elsinore area residents organize to oppose hydroelectric project

Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale addresses opponents of the proposed Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project at the Lakeland Village Community Center, Jan. 15. Valley News/Will Fritz photo
Some local residents are organizing to oppose a twice-rejected proposal for a Lake Elsinore hydroelectric plant.The Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project, more commonly known as LEAPS, was tossed aside by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nearly a decade ago in 2011.Vista-based Nevada Hydro Company, the project’s backer, submitted a final license application for LEAPS again in 2017.The project calls for construction of a reservoir in the Santa Ana Mountains just west of Lake Elsinore and a below-ground hydroelectric power plant on the lake shore. Water would be pumped uphill at night and released downhill during the day, helping with electrical load balancing by creating up to 500 megawatts of electricity during peak hours.However, many residents and electe
Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.