Climate Change
Pumped Storage Hydro Could be Key to the Clean Energy Transition. But Where Will the Water Come From?
Dozens of proposed projects would pump water uphill to reservoirs that release it to generate electricity when wind and solar can’t. But their reliance on groundwater in the drought-stricken Southwest is leading to pushback.
ELY, Nevada—The smell of piñon pine filled the air as the Ghost Train of Old Ely rolled to a stop between the Duck Creek Range and another railway. Two peaks of jagged limestone towered above the sagebrush and juniper trees that filled the range, providing habitat for elk, deer, pronghorn, rattlesnakes and sage grouse. Sundown here in the Great Basin Desert reveals some of the darkest skies in the country.