Posted on Sep 22, 2021
Private entity sought to develop San Diego pumped-storage energy facility
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https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/article/2021/08/private-entity-sought-to-develop-san-diego-pumped-storage-energy-facility?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&PostID=36705476&MessageRunDetailID= [login to see]
This is an interesting concept that I reviewed several proposals for over the years before I retired. Not one of the proposals I reviewed ever made it to construction, typically at a point in the project: the companies proposing the projects just went dark and I couldn’t get any reason why. I have to assume the profit just wasn’t there to sustain a project of this nature. There are also some environmental considerations that need to be overcome. All the projects I reviewed asked for large amounts of funding for start up capital.
This is an interesting concept that I reviewed several proposals for over the years before I retired. Not one of the proposals I reviewed ever made it to construction, typically at a point in the project: the companies proposing the projects just went dark and I couldn’t get any reason why. I have to assume the profit just wasn’t there to sustain a project of this nature. There are also some environmental considerations that need to be overcome. All the projects I reviewed asked for large amounts of funding for start up capital.
Private entity sought to develop San Diego pumped-storage energy facility
Posted from asce.orgPosted in these groups: 
San Diego
Energy
Renewables and Environment
Policy
Government Administration
San Diego Energy Renewables and Environment Policy Government Administration
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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Somebody gonna land a big job with a lot of headaches for a long time lol....
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I just saw a YT video on these projects in California. Most of them seemed to go back in to the university/foundation/study phase. No real reason given. As a former engineer, my guess is these projects were not ready for a commercial company to come in and take over. So, they left them in the public sector. It is a shame because some of them looked like promising projects.
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SFC (Join to see)
There may be some that are promising, the ones that I had a chance to review their technical proposals seemed complete even though I didn’t agree with the concept, they could have moved forward from a technical standpoint. The only thing I could think of that would stop them is money. There’s a lot of equipment to maintain with minor payroll costs. I guess there isn’t enough price difference between high and low energy rates to make a go of it. I never saw the cost analysis, only the overall concepts, how they affected the specific sites, and if they would work as described. I also reviewed cogen plants burning waste coal, and I reviewed the cost data for them enough to say that the higher energy costs go, the more feasible some of these renewable sources look.
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