Bill adding hydropower storage technology to clean energy list passes House

Senate Bill 147 would add underground pumped storage hydropower to Indiana’s list of clean energy resources. It passed the state House on Monday.

The technology generates energy by passing water through a turbine as it moves from a higher reservoir to a lower one. It accounts for most utility-scale energy storage in the U.S., but hasn’t been used much in Indiana — which has fewer of the hills and valleys needed to create the two reservoirs.

READ MORE: Bill aims to encourage energy storage technology at old mines, quarries

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But supporters of the bill say abandoned mines and quarries in Indiana could allow the state to use this technology — and bring economic opportunity to those areas.

It's unclear if the bill will head to conference committee before going to Gov. Eric Holcomb's desk.

Contact reporter Rebecca at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.

Indiana Environmental reporting is supported by the Environmental Resilience Institute, an Indiana University Grand Challenge project developing Indiana-specific projections and informed responses to problems of environmental change.

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