[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 115 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 50324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12983]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 15339-000]


Gravity Storage LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application 
Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and 
Competing Applications

    On January 11, 2024, Gravity Storage, LLC (Gravity Storage), filed 
an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the 
Escondido Canyon Pumped Storage Project.\1\ The proposed project is a 
2,000-megawatt (MW) closed-loop pumped storage project would be located 
13 miles south of Alamogordo in Otero County, New Mexico. The sole 
purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit 
holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A 
preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any 
land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters 
owned by others without the owners' express permission.
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    \1\ Gravity Storage filed an amendment to the application on 
April 19, 2024, in which it changed the requested term of the permit 
from 36 to 48 months.
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    The proposed project would consist of the following new facilities: 
(1) a 15,340-foot-long, 75-foot-high rolled concrete dam that would 
impound a 176-acre upper reservoir with a storage capacity of 11,300 
acre-feet at a water surface elevation of 7,560 feet above mean sea 
level (msl); (2) a 3,793-foot-long, 80-foot-high rockfill/concrete dam 
that would impound a 147-acre lower reservoir with a storage capacity 
of 11,300 acre-feet at a water surface elevation of 4,300 feet msl; (3) 
a 6,800-foot-long, 42-foot-diameter concrete penstock from the upper 
reservoir to eight 330-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter turbine penstocks; 
(4) a 1,600-foot-long, 150-foot-wide, 60-foot-high underground concrete 
powerhouse containing eight 250-MW pump-turbine generators; (5) a 
2,750-foot-long, 42-foot-diameter concrete tailrace; (6) a 1-mile-long 
steel well water supply pipeline connecting to existing wells for 
initial fill water; (7) an 11.7-mile-long, 345-kilovolt transmission 
line; and (8) appurtenant facilities. Additionally, Gravity Storage 
proposes to install Solar Power plants on the surface of the upper and 
lower reservoirs to minimize evaporation due to the arid desert 
climate. The proposed project would have an estimated annual generation 
of 8,000 gigawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. David Drips, Manager, Gravity Storage LLC, 
10958 E Cordova Street, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118; email: [email protected]; 
phone: (385) 227-7272.
    FERC Contact: Jane Dalgliesh; email: [email protected]; phone: 
(503) 552-2718.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eFiling.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments 
up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment 
system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You must 
include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. 
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: 
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-
Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any 
filing should include docket number P-15339-000.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's website at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search. 
Enter the docket number (P-15339) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: June 7, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-12983 Filed 6-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P