The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a 40-year- license for the proposed Goldendale Energy Storage project.  Developer Rye Development made the announcement on Thursday.  It’s an important step forward for the project, but also represents just one of many permitting hurdles that must be cleared for it to move forward, with environmental and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reviews still to come.  The pumped storage hydropower project would be at the site of a former aluminum smelter near Goldendale.  It would store electricity for up to twelve hours and generate 1,200 megawatts of on-demand electricity, enough to power about 500,000 homes.  Developers say the project is expected to create more than 3,000 family-wage jobs during its four- to five-year construction period, as well as dozens of permanent jobs.  Rye Development says the project is expected to generate more than $10 million annually for Klickitat County.