Story leads—March 30

Newshounds:

MARCH 30: Here are some story possibilities from Cache Valley environmentalists. Remember—If you want to call dibs on any of these stories, let me know so that you're not competing with each other.


• Monday, 3/31: USU Runoff Conference (free food), Eccles Conference Center (http://water.usu.edu/conference/). Covers a wide range of water science and engineering, including topics on water use, water management, and the history of living with rivers. Please help support our efforts to encourage integrated water science and engineering at Utah State.

Opening talk by Brian McInerery of the Weather Service announcing the first estimate of the 2008 runoff season projections for Utah and the region. Come find out how the upcoming boating and fishing seasons will turn out and when you can plan on mountain field work!

Address by Roger Pulwarty, director of NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System: “Climate, Change and Western Water Resources: What Are We Adapting To?” Pulwarty is a climatologist and was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Al Gore.

The rest of Monday morning is composed of special sessions on a range of topics concerning snow hydrology, water quality, and challenges to water management that feature USU faculty and student speakers, agency staff, and consultants.

Buffet Lunch and Keynote Addresses by Amy Vickers and Tage Flint, focused on end use water concerns. Amy Vickers is an engineer with an independent consulting practice that specializes in water conservation and integrated resources management. She is a nationally recognized water conservation expert and author of the award-winning Handbook of Water Use and Conservation. Tage Flint is director of the Weber River Water Conservancy District. Immediately following these talks will be another series of concurrent sessions, including one focused on drought management. Other special sessions include another on water quality.

7 p.m.: The Runoff Conference and the Friends of the Library co-host a talk by Diane Boyer related to her new book (co-authored with Bob Webb) titled Damming Grand Canyon: The 1923 USGS Colorado River Expedition.

Continues Tuesday. (registration is free for students but please register so that they can get a head-count on amount of food to order) can be found
at this website: http://water.usu.edu/conference/

• Wednesday, 4/2: The Utah State University Honors Program is pleased to announce that Dr. David Peak, Professor of Physics, will give the 33rd Annual Last Lecture, “Complexity and the New Academy: They Put My Office Where?” on Wednesday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom.

• SNOWMOBILE RACES: Under the what-are-they-thinking category, I stumbled across an article in the HJ reporting on snowmobile races scheduled for Beaver Mountain next weekend: “You’ll be able to see the best snowmobile racers in the world compete at our local ski resort,” said Tony Zollinger, assistant race organizer. “Come out and have fun. There’s a lot of noise and a lot of action going on: high speeds, a couple wrecks, and good entertainment.”

Impressive. A variety of adjectives come to mind. However, "environmentally aware", "socially responsible", "patriotic regarding non-renewable fuels", even "intelligent", aren't among them. For the full article, see: http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp Ref=VEhKLzIwMDgvMDMvMjgjQXIwMTYwMQ==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

On the same page is an article about USFS officials in the Sawtooth National Forest south of Twin Falls closing almost ~85% of their routes to OHVs because of resource damage. Wonder when local officials will finally recognize similar damage here in Utah?
http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VEhKLzIwMDgvMDMvMjgj QXIwMTYwMw==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

• Pumping Bear Lake.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2008
CONTACT: Jeff Salt, Great Salt Lakekeeper, 801-485-2550

Hook Canyon Pumped Storage Project A Perpetual Money Machine, Not A Sustainable Energy Source

Salt Lake City—Great Salt Lakekeeper, a local environmental organization, assailed the proposed Hook Canyon Pumped Storage Project (FERC #12707) calling the elaborate project planned for Bear Lake a "Perpetual Money Machine". The group also discredited claims made by proponents of the hydroelectric project that their power generation scheme would provide additional sustainable and environmentally friendly energy for northern Utah into the future.

"At first glance, the Hook Canyon hydroelectric project seems like a potentially viable, and environmentally sensitive proposal. However, after closer scrutiny, it's obvious that Hook Canyon Energy LLC, the facility owner, and Symbiotics Energy, the licensing agent, are attempting to sell the public on a bogus energy scheme that is definitely not environmentally friendly or sustainable. Their proposal borders on the description of a theoretical perpetual motion machine, which violates the basic laws of physics and thermodynamics, by promising a new and reliable source of non-fossil fuel based energy from thin air," claimed Jeff Salt, the environmental organization's Executive Director and Lakekeeper.

"The project proponents have failed to reveal to the public that their 'elegant' pumped storage project actually requires energy inputs that exceed fantastic projections of energy output," Salt added. "There will be no net increase in energy production from the Hook Canyon Pumped Storage Project. What Hook Canyon Energy and Symbiotics are attempting to do is merely capture and purchase energy from the grid at cheaper off-peak rates, then convert, store, and reconvert that energy for distribution back to the grid at higher peak demand rates, generating enormous profits, not energy, by taking advantage of price differentials. The Hook Canyon project is really a perpetual profit or money machine, not a viable or sustainable source of energy for the future of northern Utah.".

Background information: applicant claims Applicants for the Hook Canyon Pumped Storage Project claim the hydroelectric project will produce 10 hours daily of clean, efficient power to over 270,000 homes exclusively in northern Utah (1,120 MW daily and 333,245 GW annually). The applicants also claim that Hook Canyon will provide the region with an efficient alternative to additional fossil fuel based generation by serving as a storage mechanism for intermittent solar and wind generation.

"Hook Canyon pumped storage project would be able to meet peak demands inexpensively and without the environmental price tag of increased CO2 emissions. Looking to the future, by providing an effective storage mechanism, the Hook Canyon Project would also pave the way for transitioning from coal to other forms of alternative energy such as wind and solar." (from Symbiotics Energy web site, www.symbioticsenergy.com)

"The project replaces needed on-peak energy that would otherwise be provided by additional carbon-based generation. . the Hook Canyon pumped storage project would avoid increasing regional power generation that relies on fossil fuels and emits green house gases." (from Symbiotics Energy web site, www.symbioticsenergy.com)

In addition, the project proponents assert that Hook Canyon will store "excess", "surplus", or "unused" base load energy in the form of potential energy by pumping water uphill from Bear Lake into a holding reservoir and generating power from the storage when needed in a manner that is more efficient than peaking generation.

"Although natural gas-fired peaking generation is one way to meet peak demand, pumped storage can do so more efficiently by taking advantage of previously unused base load capacity. When not consumed by commercial or residential customers, base load capacity goes unused, which happens in Utah daily. Pumped storage hydropower stores this excess off-peak power in the form of potential energy by pumping water uphill. It then efficiently recaptures the energy via downhill water flow as needed, returning it to the grid in the form of on-peak power." (from Symbiotics Energy web site, www.symbioticsenergy.com)

"It [Hook Canyon Pumped Storage Project] would produce scarce clean peak hour electricity while consuming surplus off peak electricity."(from Symbiotics Energy web site, www.symbioticsenergy.com)

Project critique: Pumped storage hydroelectric power generation is not as environmentally friendly or sustainable as purported by industry engineers and consultants. According to the laws of thermodynamics, energy within an energy production cycle is conserved and cannot be generated in excess of the inputs required to start and maintain the system. Accordingly, as potential energy is converted to "work", and visa versa, i.e. running pumps or turning turbines through fossil fuel combustion or by moving water through an elevation gradient, incremental losses are incurred. As a result, the total amount of output energy and stored energy generated from an energy cycle must always be less than its inputs. In the case of pumped storage hydroelectric generation, the energy inputs required to sustain the process exceed the projected energy output, resulting in a net loss of total energy production back to the grid. In addition, pumped storage hydroelectric generation requires input energy produced by conventional power sources such as coal or natural gas plants, resulting in increased pollution and greenhouse gases.

The claims made by Hook Canyon Energy and Symbiotics are grossly exaggerated, misleading, and mostly false. First, the projected amount of energy produced by the hydroelectric project would far exceed the capacity of the existing transmission system for northern Utah, and the anticipated growth demand for power. With excess capacity potential, the Hook Canyon Energy will likely be compelled to sell energy to the regional and national grid in contradiction to their stated commitment to sell only to northern Utah.

Secondly, the pumped storage project will require an excess amount of energy to pump water from Bear Lake on a daily basis, and to compensate for incremental transmission and generation losses, that exceeds the projected energy output levels. The input energy required for the project will need to be purchased from conventional power plants throughout the region, which are mostly coal-fired or natural gas plants, in contradiction to the stated goals of the project to provide clean, environmentally friendly electricity that replaces the need to additional fossil fuel based generation. In addition, the levels of input energy required cannot not be provided by intermittent wind or solar generation because of the enormous land mass required to build sufficient wind capacity and the fact that solar energy is unavailable at nighttime when electricity is needed to pump water from Bear Lake.

Thirdly, pumped storage generation is not efficient. The amount of energy required to create the fundamental supply of potential energy in the storage reservoir, coupled with transmission and other generation losses, exceeds the projected output energy levels. The pumped storage scenario results in a net loss of energy throughout the grid, and does not generate a net gain in energy to the system
overall.

Fourthly, there is no tangible supply of surplus, unused, or excess electricity that the applicants plan to store and regenerate for distribution at a later time. The input energy needed for the pumped storage project will have to be generated specifically for the project at conventional facilities in quantities that exceed projected output levels. This energy will require the mining and combustion of new coal and natural gas resources at various facilities scattered throughout the region. The supposition that input energy needed for the project will come from ethereal surpluses is false and misleading. In addition, the amount of energy needed to sustain the pumped storage project will significantly decrease base load supplies, and drive base load prices up sharply, resulting in higher energy costs throughout the grid.

Fifthly, the proposed pumped storage project is really an elaborate scheme to redistribute electricity and generate profits available from price differentials between base-load and peak-load prices for electricity. Since there is no net gain of energy to the grid from this project, the primary function of the pumped storage project is to capture and sequester inexpensive electricity until peak demand time and redistribution at inflated prices.

Sixthly, the applicants have not adequately studied or modeled the environmental impacts caused by the pumped storage project. It is likely that the volume and velocity of water discharged into Bear Lake by the daytime generation cycle will have profound impacts on lake currents, movement of nutrients and pollutants, ambient water temperature, alteration of aquatic habitats, and reproductive success of aquatic species, especially four sensitive species found in Bear Lake.

Jeff Salt, Executive Director and Lakekeeper
Great Salt Lakekeeper
P.O. Box 522220
Salt Lake City, Utah 84152
801-485-2550
“Clean Water Is A Community Solution”

• What are Nightjars? The Center for Conservation Biology constructed the Nightjar Survey Network in 2007 to begin the process of collecting data on the population distribution and population trends of Nightjars across broad regions of the United States. The Network was initially introduced into the southeast and is being expanded in 2008 to provide coverage throughout the contiguous United States.

The Nightjar Survey Network relies on volunteer participation by conservation-minded citizens, biologists, and other like-minded groups to adopt and conduct survey routes. Nightjar Surveys are easy to perform and will not take more than two hours to complete. Volunteers conduct roadside counts at night, during specific time windows when the moon is > 50 % illuminated, by driving and stopping at 10 points along a predetermined 9-mile route. At each point, the observer counts all Nightjars seen or heard by species during a 6-minute period. No artificial broadcasts of the species' calls are used. Please visit the United States Nightjar Survey Website for more details including location of routes, instructions, and results; www.ccb-wm.org/nightjars.htm

• RIVERS: From the Bear River Watershed Council comes this suggestion for an easy way to comment on Wild and Scenic designation for the Logan River through the Utah Rivers Council website.

Remember, Cache County and the USFS are going to act in the most politically expedient way on this issue. Soooooo, these kinds of politics being driven by loud shouting, stamping of feet, and other assorted noise (not necessarily concerns over long term environmental protection or even accumulated wisdom from having seen many, many other rivers become degraded for lack of protection), it helps to comment. (Bryan Dixon)

Support a Wild and Scenic Logan River! Did you want to write a comment in support of the Logan River and found the time needed just wasn’t there? Me too.

The Utah Rivers Council has developed a Web site for folks like us to get our desires passed along to the our local representatives and the Forest Service personal who will make the decision.

Please take a few moments, surf to their Web site, and sign a petition. This will add your voice toward the protection of the Logan River we all hold dear to our sense of place. Click this link to add your name to the petition: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5207/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=39