Tennessee Valley Authority
Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Ashley Wind Energy Project
McIntosh County, North Dakota
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to determine the environmental effects of, and to inform its decision-making about, obtaining renewable energy from the proposed wind power project. During a 30-day period through March 8, 2010, TVA solicited scoping comments from the public, agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and Native American tribes. TVA will use in-scope comments to help shape the issues, alternatives, and scope of review for the project and its potential to affect the environment and historic properties. If completed as an EA, TVA anticipates providing a draft EA for public review in the summer of 2010.
The Proposal
TVA, an independent federal corporation of the United States government, is a major supplier of electrical energy to a seven-state region of the Southeastern United States. TVA is seeking to expand its generation portfolio to include additional sources of renewable energy. Contingent upon successful completion of an environmental review, TVA would purchase energy generated by CPV Ashley Renewable Energy Company LLC (CPV) at the proposed Ashley Wind Energy Project (the proposed Project). CPV, a private energy development company based in Silver Spring, Maryland, would construct and operate the proposed Project. TVA would be purchasing approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of power from the facility for a 20-year period. For more information about CPV, please see www.cpv.com.
Description of the Project
The proposed Project consists of a 200-MW wind-powered generating facility to be located in south-central North Dakota, within McIntosh County, approximately 6 miles north of the city of Ashley (see project area map). This location was proposed due to the wind resource of the area and its proximity to two existing high-voltage transmission lines, which give the proposed Project access to the regional electric grid and reduce the amount of additional transmission needed to connect the site.
The proposed Project area is approximately 17,400 acres of private land, primarily consisting of pasture and cultivated cropland (wheat, soybeans, sunflowers, and corn) with a few rural residences and farmsteads. The land is currently under easement with CPV. Two existing high-voltage transmission lines, a Montana Dakota Utilities Company 230-kilovolt (kV) line, and a Basin Electric Power Cooperative 345-kV line pass through the proposed Project area. Some conservation easements, including Conservation Reserve Program land, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) grassland easements, and USFWS wetland easements, are known to be present within the proposed Project area, which is located approximately 2,000 to 2,200 feet above sea level and is characterized by rolling hills interspersed with many isolated glacial pothole wetlands (see representative photos of the site).
The proposed Project would provide approximately 200 MW of wind energy capacity. The facility would consist of between 67-133 wind turbines. At this time, CPV has not yet identified the specific wind turbine model to be utilized at the site. It is expected that the selected turbine will range between 1.5–3.0 MW in generating capacity, 80–90 meters in hub height, and 80–103 meters in rotor diameter. In addition to the wind turbines, the proposed Project would involve: improvements to existing roads (possibly including widening); construction of new gravel access roads; installation of underground electrical collection lines; construction of an operation and maintenance building; construction of an electrical switchgear facility; erection of three to four 80–90–meter–tall permanent meteorological masts; and construction of an interconnection substation facility. A temporary construction staging area is also planned for the construction phase of the proposed Project. Five 60–meter–tall temporary meteorological towers and one temporary 2–meter–tall Triton Wind Profiler have already been installed within the proposed Project area to study the technical feasibility of the proposed Project. The proposed Project would interconnect to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator electric grid via a 230-kV Montana Dakota Utilities Company transmission line.
Over the past year, CPV and their environmental contractor have performed desktop and in-field environmental studies and initiated discussions with local, county, state, and federal agencies and authorities. These studies have included a Native Prairie Survey, Fall Avian Point Count, Whooping Crane Likelihood of Occurrence Analysis, Bat Likelihood of Occurrence Analysis, and a Class I Cultural Resource Survey as well as a Critical Issues Analysis, which included a Natural Heritage Review, Comsearch Telecommunications Interference Studies, and an EDR DataMap Environmental Atlas. Additional studies and formal and informal consultations will be conducted in support of the environmental review, as well as other state and federal regulatory processes. These other processes include, but are not limited to, a North Dakota Public Service Commission Certificate of Site Compatibility application, as well as compliance with the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Clean Water Act. Pending successful completion of the NEPA review and other state and local permitting, construction of the proposed Project may commence as early as mid-2011 and may begin commercial operation by the end of 2012.
For additional information, please contact Bruce Yeager by mail, e-mail, or phone as shown below.
Bruce L. Yeager, NEPA Program Manager
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 W. Summit Hill Drive, WT 11D
Knoxville, TN 37902
E-mail: blyeager@tva.gov
Phone: 865-632-8051