20-MW Wind Farm and Associated Energy Storage Facility Draft Environmental Assessment

We appreciate your interest in the 20-MW Wind Farm and Associated Energy Storage Facility Environmental Assessment. The Tennessee Valley Authority proposes to construct and operate a wind farm either on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County, Tennessee, or on Stone Mountain in Johnson County, Tennessee. TVA also proposes to construct and operate a Regenesys™ Energy Storage facility near the selected wind farm site. The wind farm would demonstrate a technology for generating electric power with minimal environmental pollution to be marketed through TVA’s Green Power Switch® program and would consist of 13 to 16 wind turbines. The Regenesys facility would demonstrate an effective technology for storing the energy generated by the wind farm and releasing it at times of high energy demand. This draft environmental assessment examines the potential effects of building on Buffalo Mountain (Alternative 1), building on Stone Mountain (Alternative 2), or not building a 20 MW wind farm and associated energy storage facility (Alternative 3).

Documents

The public summary and the entire draft environmental assessment can be viewed by section, as noted below (PDF files, require Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Note: All figures except those in Chapter 3 are not included because they are too large for Web-page formatting. To request printed copies, call 865-632-1451, or e-mail tvainfo@tva.gov (attn. Anita K. Rose). In the Subject line type "Windfarm EA Print Copy." Please include your postal mailing address.

Draft Environmental Assessment

This is the complete text of the draft environmental assessment, divided into the following sections for faster downloading:

Summary and Table of Contents (30 kb)
Includes an abstract, a summary of the issues and alternatives considered, the table of contents, a table of acronyms and abbreviations, a list of figures, and a list of tables.
Chapter 1: Background, Purpose, and Need for Action (27 kb)
Background of the Green Power Switch program, purpose of the proposed wind farm and energy storage facility, other pertinent environmental reviews and documentation, and the goals of the proposal.
Chapter 2: Alternatives (52 kb)
Proposed action, and description and comparison of the three alternatives.
Chapter 3: Affected Environment (663 kb)
Detailed description of the environmental setting and a discussion of the identified resources, species, and other issues of concern (see the Summary and Table of Contents for a list of all the resources evaluated).
Chapter 4: Environmental Consequences (183 kb)
Discussion of environmental consequences under the three alternatives for each specified resource. Includes proposed mitigation measures.
Chapter 5: List of Preparers and Contributors (21 kb)
List of preparers and contributors.
References (29 kb)
Literature cited.
Appendix A: Description of the Proposed Regenesys™ Facility (20 kb)
Technology description.
Appendix B (25 kb)
Bird species observed on the Buffalo Mountain wind farm site.
Appendix C (29 kb)
State-listed plant species reported from the county in which the project site occurs, but from outside of a five mile review radius.

For more information

Printed copies of the entire draft environmental assessment are available for viewing at most public libraries and courthouses in Johnson County and the Oliver Springs, Tennessee area. For more information, call 865-632-1451, or e-mail tvainfo@tva.gov (attn. Anita K. Rose). In the Subject line type “20-MW Wind Farm EA Print Copy.” Please include your USPS mailing address.

To comment on this draft environmental assessment

TVA is extending the comment period for the draft environmental assessment of the proposed 20-MW wind farm and associated energy storage facility from February 7, 2002 to March 5, 2002. Please submit comments regarding this project to Anita Rose, either by mail to Tennessee Valley Authority, P. O. Box 1649, Norris, TN 37828; by fax to 865-632-1493; or by e-mail to tvainfo@tva.gov (attn. Anita K. Rose).