arizona news
Has been updated: March 10, 2023 at 2:31 PM
(Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Arizona legislators on both sides of the Washington, DC aisle introduced and supported two bills related to hydropower and a potential new national park in the Grand Canyon state.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly introduced legislation to allow exploration for pumped-storage hydroelectric facilities in the Salt River Reservoir System. Pumped storage hydro plants can hold power and release it when power demand and prices are high.
Independent Senator Kirsten Sinema and Republican Rep. David Schweikert supported the bill.
“We are pleased to lead this bipartisan measure in Arizona that will pave the way for more affordable and reliable energy and promote energy storage. press release.
“All of the above energy strategies are essential to meet the growing demand of Arizona’s economy and household consumption,” Schweikert said in a release. “We need a broad range of domestic technologies to ensure grid reliability and find ways to tap into our diverse energy portfolio without over-reliance on foreign supply chains.”
Pumped storage plants generate electricity by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. Water is pumped into the upper reservoir during periods of low energy demand and discharged downhill through turbines during periods of high demand. Japan Hydropower Association.
Salt River Project CEO and general manager Mike Hummel explained that hydroelectric storage units store renewable energy during the day and deliver it at night.
“SRP will have more than 800 megawatts of four hours of battery storage online by 2026, plus pumped storage will further diversify SRP’s capabilities, providing 10 to 12 hours of required energy storage. ,” Hummel said in a release.
The second bill, the Chiricahua National Parks Act, was reintroduced in the Senate by Kelly, co-sponsored by Cinema, and introduced in the House by Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani.
The measure would establish Chiricahua National Monument as Arizona’s fourth national park, joining the Grand Canyon, Saguaro, and Petrified Forest National Parks.
The memorial is located in Cochise County near the Arizona-New Mexico border.
“A bipartisan bill designating Chiricahua National Monument as a national park would further promote conservation, promote tourism, and create economic opportunities in southern Arizona,” Kelly said. press release.
“The Chiricahua National Monument has long been a beloved landmark in southern Arizona,” Ciscomani said in a release. “These unique formations draw visitors to our state from all over the country and the world. This tourism is an important part of our local economy.”
A 27-million-year-old volcanic eruption left gardens in rock pinnacles and formations that present a unique setting.
It was protected by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
Kelly originally sponsored the bill in April 2021. It passed unanimously in the Senate, but not in the House.
