FERC has approved a 40-year license for a proposed 1.2-GW pumped hydroelectric storage facility near the city of Goldendale in Klickitat County, Wash. (P-14861-002).
According to the commission’s order, approved at its monthly opening meeting Jan. 22, Rye Development will build and operate the closed-loop, 12-hour Goldendale Energy Storage Project along the cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge and near the John Day Dam. It will include two reservoirs, one at the bottom of the cliffs and another about 2,300 feet higher.
A powerhouse built in an underground cavern will contain three, 400-MW pump-turbine units. A 500-kV transmission line will connect the project to the Bonneville Power Administration’s system through the existing John Day substation. The project is expected to generate power eight hours on a typical day and up to 12 hours a day if needed.
“The energy produced will be delivered to the wholesale market to be purchased by utilities in the Pacific Northwest and California to help satisfy periods of peak demand and provide grid flexibility,” FERC said in its order.
According to the project’s website, it has a price tag of more than $2 billion. The expected commercial operation date is 2032.
Erik Steimle, Rye’s chief development officer, called the approval “a landmark moment for the Pacific Northwest.”
“With electricity demand and energy costs on the rise, this license represents a huge step toward a more reliable grid and affordable energy prices for the region,” Steimle said in a statement.
The reservoirs initially will be filled with 7,640 acre-feet of Columbia River water bought from Klickitat Public Utility District. An additional 360 acre-feet will be purchased each year to make up for water loss from evaporation and seepage. The initial fill will take place over seven months, from September through March, to avoid Columbia River flow reductions that could delay salmon smolt migration.
The project area is within Klickitat County’s Energy Overlay Zone, which is intended to streamline energy development. The upper reservoir site is within the Tuolumne wind farm.
The lower reservoir is planned at the former site of Columbia Gorge Aluminum smelter. The landowner and the former smelter operator are working with the state on cleanup efforts, and project owner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has pledged $10 million to help.
The state’s Department of Ecology issued a water quality certification for the Goldendale project in May 2023, which was upheld on appeal in January 2025.
The project faced opposition from members of the Yakama Nation, Umatilla Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and Nez Perce Tribe. It is on property that has historical significance and is used for sacred ceremonies. (See Wash. Approval of Pumped Storage Project Sparks Dissent.)
The FERC order noted that Rye proposed protecting cultural resources and mitigating unavoidable impacts to historic sites through a historic properties management plan. Other measures include consulting with tribes to provide post-construction access to the project area for cultural programs and to ensure construction doesn’t block access to traditional fishing areas.
Rye is a partnership between EDF power solutions and Climate Adaptive Infrastructure. It is also developing the 393-MW, eight-hour Swan Lake pumped storage project in Klamath County, Ore., and the 266-MW Lewis Ridge pumped storage project in Bell County, Ky.
