Gregory County Pumped Storage Project nixed

GREGORY COUNTY, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - MidAmerican Energy and Missouri River Energy Services announced Tuesday that the joint pumped storage project planned for Gregory County will not be pursued.

The companies stated in a release that the decision not to go through with the project at this time is based on due diligence, saying they will continue to evaluate all options moving forward.

The project would have pumped water up to a reservoir from Lake Francis Case, then released it back into the lake, creating hydropower electricity.

Landowners on the steering committee against the project didn’t see it coming but found it welcome news.

Opponents of the project had a list of concerns, stemming from the large population influx in the Platte area from the construction project to the fish and wildlife impact.

Landowners also expressed frustration that the Game, Fish and Parks, which has hundreds of campsites in the area, did not submit their research during requests for comment.

Dakota News Now asked Game, Fish and Parks about their thoughts on the project and received no response.

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