A proposal to build a hydroelectric power plant near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area won preliminary approval from federal regulators earlier this month. The Desert Bloom Project is a large-scale, closed-loop pumped storage proposal that promises to produce 1,170 gigawatt-hours of power annually. … Pumped storage projects require massive amounts of water to generate hydroelectric power. … The proposed project would require 9,800 acre-feet of water stored across two reservoirs. … The Las Vegas Valley Water District, which serves the area, said the project is out of step with Southern Nevada water conservation policy.