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to Susan Meier - Creation Care, Bernie Penner - CLAIM - Creation Care, Kim Cornelius - POP Creation Care, Leah Kulp - St. B's Choir and Creation Care, Charlie Bailey - Creation Care, Drew Brown - Creation Care - St. B's, Larry Ryan - Creation Care, Carla Christopher - Creation Care DEMD Synod, Creation Care - Google Group, Mydea Reeves Karpeh - Peoples Community, Margaret Brack - Creation Care Ministry Faith Lutheran, Salisbury
A closer look at the Washington State pumped hydro storage project
Thank you to Talking Climate readers Teresa and Max for flagging important context about the pumped hydro project in Washington State I mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter. While pumped storage is still an important climate solution, I’m sorry to say this particular project does not qualify as Good News.
I’ve updated the story below to reflect that context, and wanted to share this update with you promptly rather than waiting until next week.
NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS AFTER ALL
Where we build clean energy matters. The proposed Rye pumped storage facility in Washington would permanently alter Pushpum, a sacred site of deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Yakama Nation.
As a new article just published today explains, the project would require drilling large tunnels and constructing reservoirs through the hillside—damage that Max described as “tantamount to levelling Notre Dame or the Vatican.” That harm arises in large part because the project moved forward without typical Tribal consultation.
This is a reminder that even well-intentioned climate solutions can repeat past harms when Indigenous sovereignty and community voices are sidelined, and when development is imposed rather than co-created. We can’t wait for perfection, it’s true. But good climate action requires us to listen to all concerned and minimize harm wherever possible. If we’re serious about building a better world, we have to do it better.
GOOD NEWS
There is good news too, though: better, smarter approaches already exist. In the case of pumped storage projects, re-using already-disturbed or abandoned industrial sites makes a lot of sense.
In Wales, for example, the Dinorwig Power Stationrepurposed an abandoned slate quarry into pumped storage by connecting existing pits and lakes. Because it can respond quickly during demand spikes, Dinorwig has already reduced the need for fossil fuel-powered peaking plants and additional hydropower, such as large dams that fragment rivers and disrupt aquatic life.
Examples like Dinorwig show how energy storage can deliver many of the grid benefits traditionally associated with dams, without fragmenting rivers or flooding ecosystems. That’s a win-win!
Where we build clean energy matters. The proposed Rye pumped storage facility in Washington would permanently alter Pushpum, a sacred site of deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Yakama Nation.
