It sounds like Aaron Million is hoping to implement Reclamation’s time-honored strategy — moving water through hydroelectric facilities on it’s way to consumers. Here’s a report from Bobby Magill writing for the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:
So far, only a handful of water suppliers have been revealed to the public, but Million said Wednesday “there’s some significant major interest from nationally recognized entities in the project.” He declined to identify them or say whether or not they might be revealed next year.
Regardless, Million is convinced 2011 will be a significant year in shaping the plans for the pipeline, which is under environmental review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “What you should expect is a major expansion of the alternative energy, the hydropower for the project,” he said. That’s hydropower to the amperage of 1,000 megawatts that would be generated as the water in the pipeline falls from Laramie to Fort Collins, he said. “One thousand megawatts would be one of the biggest hydro projects in the country,” he said.
The Hoover Dam, by comparison, produces just over 2,000 megawatts of electricity, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.