Innovation

The Eagle Mountain innovation is about repurposing an idle mine and converting it into one of the most ambitious renewable energy storage projects in North America. In contrast to older battery storage technologies based on expensive lithium-ion technology, Eagle Mountain uses gravity and water in a closed loop to level the electric grid. During sunny days with lots of wind, the system fills a higher reservoir with water; during times of high electricity demand, it releases water downhill, which spins turbines to generate electricity. At 1,300 megawatts, Eagle Mountain would be one of the nation's largest pumped storage facilities, supplying critical backup to the increasingly renewable-powered grid. The project innovates using variable-speed pump-turbines, a critical technology to facilitate flexible operation based on the variable availability of solar and wind resources, something never dreamt of by fixed-speed traditional pumps. As Steve Lowe explained, “What makes this innovative is the use of variable-speed pumps. Unlike the old nuclear model, where energy input was constant, solar and wind are unpredictable. Sunlight comes and goes. Variable-speed systems allow us to adjust in real time, which is essential for renewables.” With a world in serious transition towards intermittent renewable energy resources, Eagle Mountain is a high-performance and scalable solution that directly supports UN SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and UN SDG 13 (Climate Action). 

What is revolutionary about Eagle Mountain is its green policy. Rather than damming rivers or disrupting pristine ecosystems, the project makes use of pre-existing industrial scars—two enormous iron ore mining holes left over from years ago. By repurposing a brownfield site into a clean energy facility, Eagle Mountain avoids the significant environmental footprint otherwise associated with massive infrastructure development. The surrounding desert landscape is left untouched, preserving the natural setting while breathing new life into a byproduct of industry's past. Importantly, Eagle Mountain is not a one-off. Pumped storage is a proven technology, with more than 300 similar facilities operating globally. The success of Eagle Mountain would demonstrate how underutilized or abandoned industrial sites around the world could be reimagined as clean energy assets, offering a repeatable model for grid-scale storage in other regions. As Lowe put it, “This is essentially a giant battery. We pump water uphill when energy is abundant and release it downhill to generate electricity when it's needed. It’s about 80% efficient—and at this scale, super competitive with conventional batteries.” For NextEra and Steve Lowe, the project is not only an engineering achievement; it's a statement about the future of energy: that smart, sustainable land reuse can power the grid of the future. In doing this, Eagle Mountain creates a model demonstrating how innovation, legacy, and sustainability can intersect and address one of the biggest human issues.

Inspiration

The vision behind the Eagle Mountain pumped storage project stretches back more than three decades, born not from a government initiative or a corporate boardroom, but from a flash of insight during a desert flyover. In the early 1990s, Art Lowe, the father of current project lead Steve Lowe, was soaring over California’s remote Colorado Desert when his engineer friend pointed down at the massive, abandoned iron mine below, and thought it would be the perfect place to build. For Art, the idea stuck, and Eagle Crest Energy was born. Once a hub of industry, the Eagle Mountain mine had long since gone silent, its sprawling pits a relic of the past. Art saw potential in this emptiness: an opportunity to transform environmental scars into a new engine for clean energy. Though he passed away in 2009, his son Steve picked up the mantle, founding Eagle Crest Energy Co. and eventually selling a majority stake to NextEra Energy, the world’s largest operator of wind and solar farms. Today, the project stands as a tribute to that original vision and to the idea that innovation can rise from the ruins of industry.

At its heart, Eagle Mountain embodies a simple but powerful idea: reimagining an abandoned industrial site to serve a 21st-century purpose, stabilizing the renewable energy grid. Unlike traditional hydroelectric dams that often require altering rivers and ecosystems, Eagle Mountain would use what already exists, two enormous mining pits, filling them with groundwater to create a "closed loop" pumped storage system. When solar energy is abundant, it would pump water uphill; when it’s scarce, the water would flow back down to generate electricity. For Steve Lowe, the site is almost poetic in its suitability: the reservoirs are already carved, and the surrounding desert provides a rare chance to build major energy infrastructure without disrupting untouched wilderness. Eagle Mountain isn't just an engineering project; it’s a legacy. It’s a son’s tribute to his father’s dream, a bold bet on a clean energy future, and a reminder that yesterday’s environmental wounds can become tomorrow’s tools for healing the planet.

Overall impact

The Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project will significantly contribute to the future of renewable energy by solving one of its biggest issues: storage. The project uses two abandoned mining pits to create a 1,300 MW battery that can hold excess energy, primarily from the adjacent San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, with 628 MW production capacity. When the sun and wind generation surpasses demand, the system pumps water up a hill and stores energy for subsequent periods in the evening when demand is highest, around 5 and 10 PM. At an efficiency rate of around 80 percent, the project presents a very efficient and scale-matched alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which are limited by cost, degradation, and size.

Along with stabilizing the grid, the project will replace demand for new combined cycle gas plants, resulting in large carbon emission savings. Through flexible, large-scale storage capability, Eagle Mountain supports California's evolution to a high-renewables grid. The project also minimizes new environmental footprint by utilizing existing industrial land instead of building on unspoiled desert. Despite the regulatory hurdles and pushback from some quarters, its success would mark a key step towards making renewable energy the main power source in the western United States. As Steve Lowe put it, “You can’t continue the solar penetration, the grid will destabilize, you need storage full stop.”

Business benefit

Steve Lowe’s innovative technology of variable-speed pump storage with the Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project sets a historic precedent for the energy industry. All major energy players, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, must focus on strengthening their alternative energy portfolio to effectively compete with NextEra Energy, which now wholly owns Eagle Crest Energy Company. As Steve Lowe puts it, “At NextEra, we have lots of people in our organization who are trying to decarbonize the grid”, indicating that an industry transition towards clean energy begins at the personnel level. Steve Lowe also underscored in our interview that the price of wind and solar energy has dramatically fallen over the past two decades, so not only is renewable energy eco-friendly and structurally feasible, but also financially efficient. While renewable energy facilities are capital-intensive and require a litany of permits, approvals, and audits, the long-term cost-efficiencies outweigh the appeal of existing fossil fuel facilities. 

Steve Lowe also points to the diminishing demand for traditional energy generators such as nuclear plants, gas plants, and intensive batteries on the state-level across the country. Many states either do not have the capacity to house major gas-powered plants or do not welcome carbon-intensive projects, which should signal key players in the energy industry to contribute to the renewable transition. Companies that fail to transition and divest from high CO2-emitting business segments will inevitably fall behind industry pioneers like NextEra Energy, who is already leveraging sustainable business practices through Steve Lowe’s variable-speed pump technology. Those who do invest in renewable initiatives or meaningfully reinforce existing renewable business segments will become market leaders, attracting clean-energy contracts from the largest municipalities and regions.

Social and environmental benefit

The Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project benefited society and the environment in more ways than one, thanks to Steve Lowe’s innovative thinking. The technology behind the Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project utilizes gravity and water in a closed-loop system where water is pumped uphill into a higher reservoir when there is enough wind and solar to produce clean energy. However, when there isn’t enough clean energy to match the people’s demand, the water is released to flow downhill, turning turbines to generate electricity. This levels the electric grid and provides reliable and affordable clean energy for millions of Californians when they need it the most, and otherwise may have relied on fossil fuels instead. This helps millions of Californians rely on renewable clean energy, decreasing the need for fossil fuels, which are known to be harmful to the environment by releasing greenhouse gases. By lowering our need for fossil fuels, the Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project plays a key role in alleviating climate change, improving air quality, and promoting public health.

Another way this project benefited the environment was by building their infrastructure in 2 abandoned mines from years ago. By turning an old brownfield site into a greenfield site, they were able to convert what was once a polluted, unused industrial area into a sustainable energy hub. This also sets a new standard for the rest of society to follow; reusing old industrial sites to build green infrastructure, that way we can not only convert these sites, but we can also avoid harming untouched natural landscapes or displacing communities when building green infrastructure. As Steve Lowe puts it, “The way we solve climate change is not by giving things up—it’s by innovating our way through it.” This quote captures the spirit of the Eagle Mountain project, which offers a forward-thinking solution that supports both human needs and environmental preservation. What Steve Lowe has done is truly inspiring and other developers and companies will follow his lead. By increasing the reliability of clean energy through genius technology and converting brownfield sites into greenfield sites, we can save the environment and set a new standard for the world to follow for a cleaner and more sustainable future.

Interview

Steve Lowe, Founder