The would-be developer of the long-stalled, controversial Eagle Mountain pumped power storage project has agreed to pay Riverside County $77 million in community benefits if the project is built, per an agreement approved by the county board of supervisors on May 6.
It is not clear what community would benefit or how, although the need for firefighting protection is mentioned in the memorandum of understanding. The agenda related to the agreement states that “future Board action will be required on expenditures of these funds.”
The Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project, to be funded by a NextEra subsidiary called Eagle Crest Energy, has plans for a 1,300-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility at the shuttered Eagle Mountain Mine near the southeastern edge of Joshua Tree National Park. The project would use reservoirs created from two old mining pits to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir during periods of low energy demand, and discharge water to the lower reservoir to generate electricity during periods of high demand…