Here’s a copy of the online comment I sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which held a hearing Dec 2. I am opposed to the relicensing of the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage facility because of the ecological damage it does. It uses more electricity than it produces.
No riverine ecosystem can function when its flow is drastically reversed. River herring (an important marine and inland species) are killed going through the turbines in both directions. Right now, in this century, alternative (and green) methods of supplying peak demand must be encouraged (small nukes, expanded communication to consumers during peak demand, new battery technology and energy generation such as the Flooid system that has just been developed in western Mass)
Concerned citizens can comment at www.ferc.gov Project Number for the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage: P-2485
Mary J. Metzger
Westfield