Wednesday November 11, 2026
YubaNet —
The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is calling on the public to submit comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before a November 30, 2026 deadline regarding a proposed “closed loop” pumped storage hydropower project on Fish Creek, a tributary of the Wild and Scenic South Yuba River east of Nevada City.
RamaFlux Sierra PSH LLC, a company formed this spring, has filed an application with FERC for a preliminary permit to study a 750-megawatt (MW) pumped storage power plant on Fish Creek — a stream just 1.5 miles long that flows through the forest near the town of Washington before meeting the South Yuba River. The proposed project would involve two new dams and reservoirs, an underground powerhouse, new construction roads, and a new 230-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line through Sierra Nevada foothill forests. At 750 MW, the proposed project would generate more power than every existing hydropower project in the Yuba River watershed combined — more than twice the generating capacity of the Colgate Powerhouse. Shasta Dam, by comparison, produces 710 MW and is built on a river with hundreds of times the flow of Fish Creek during winter months.