Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Renewable Energy From CPV Ashley Wind Power Project in North Dakota, 5873-5875 [2010-2377]

Agencies

• Tennessee Valley Authority

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5873-5875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2377]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement for 
Purchase of Renewable Energy From CPV Ashley Wind Power Project in 
North Dakota

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice of intent is provided in accordance with the 
Council on Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) 
and Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) procedures for implementing the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TVA will prepare either an 
environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) in order to address the potential environmental impacts 
associated with its proposal to execute a 20-year power purchase 
agreement (PPA) for the purchase of up to 200 megawatts (MW) of 
renewable energy from CPV Ashley Renewable Energy Company LLC (CPV), a 
direct subsidiary of CPV Renewable Energy Company LLC (CPV REC). In 
order to supply this renewable energy, CPV is proposing to construct 
and operate a wind-powered generating facility in McIntosh County, 
North Dakota, known as the Ashley Wind Energy Project (the proposed 
Project). The proposed Project would interconnect to the Midwest 
Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) electric grid via a 
230-kilovolt (kV) Montana Dakota Utility Company transmission line.
    TVA's Strategic Plan includes the objective to reduce its 
environmental footprint through demand reduction and by increasing 
clean energy resources in its generation mix. The TVA Board of 
Directors (TVA Board) recently authorized the purchase of as much as 
2,000 MW of renewable and clean energy by 2011 as part of TVA's plan to 
have half of its power supply from clean and renewable energy sources 
by 2020. Accomplishing this goal will require increasing the 
availability of clean generation such as wind power to TVA. Achieving 
these goals would also assist TVA in meeting potential renewable 
portfolio standards (RPS), broadening its generation mix, sustaining 
grid reliability, and meeting future consumer demand for electricity 
through low or no carbon-emitting facilities.

DATES: Public comments on the scope of the review are invited. In order 
to ensure their consideration, scoping comments must be received on or 
before March 8, 2010. It is anticipated that a draft EA or EIS will be 
available in late spring or early summer 2010. If TVA decides that 
preparation of an EIS is warranted, a notice of availability of the 
draft EIS will be published in the Federal Register, as well as 
announced in local news media.

ADDRESSES: Information about the environmental review may be obtained 
by contacting Bruce Yeager, NEPA Program Manager, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Mail Stop WT 11D, Knoxville, 
Tennessee 37902; by e-mailing to blyeager@tva.gov; or by visiting the 
TVA Web site https://www.tva.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the wind power 
proposal, contact Wayne Hilson, Power Supply and Fuels Organization, 
Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101

[[Page 5874]]

Market Street, Mail Stop SP 6A, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 (e-mail: 
dwhilson@tva.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

TVA Power System

    TVA is an agency and instrumentality of the United States, 
established by an act of Congress in 1933, to foster the social and 
economic welfare of the people of the Tennessee Valley region and to 
promote the proper use and conservation of the region's natural 
resources. One component of this mission is the generation, 
transmission, and sale of reliable and affordable electric energy. TVA 
operates the nation's largest public power system, producing 4 percent 
of all electricity in the nation. TVA provides electricity to most of 
Tennessee and parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Kentucky. It serves about 9 million people in this 
seven-state region through 157 power distributors and 58 directly 
served large industries and federal facilities. The TVA Act requires 
the TVA power system to be self-supporting and operated on a nonprofit 
basis, and the TVA Act directs TVA to sell power at rates as low as are 
feasible.
    Dependable capacity on the TVA power system is about 37,000 MW. TVA 
generates most of this power with three nuclear plants, 11 coal-fired 
plants, nine combustion-turbine plants, a combined-cycle plant, 29 
hydroelectric dams, a pumped-storage facility, a wind farm, a methane-
gas cofiring facility, and several small renewable generating 
facilities. A portion of delivered power is obtained through long-term 
PPAs. About 60 percent of TVA's annual generation is from fossil fuels, 
predominantly coal; 30 percent is from nuclear; and the remainder is 
from hydro and other renewable energy resources. TVA transmits 
electricity from these facilities over almost 16,000 miles of 
transmission lines. Like other utility systems, TVA has power 
interchange agreements with utilities surrounding the Tennessee Valley 
region and purchases and sells power on an economic basis almost daily.
    In the mid-1990s, TVA developed an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 
with extensive public involvement. This process was completed with 
publication of the Energy Vision 2020 Integrated Resource Plan and 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (IRP/FEIS) in 1995 and the 
associated record of decision in 1996. Based on the extensive 
evaluation, TVA decided to adopt a flexible portfolio of supply- and 
demand-side energy resource options to meet the growing demand for 
electricity in the region and achieve the goals of the TVA Act and 
other congressional directives. The portfolio of alternatives analyzed 
in the IRP/FEIS encompassed the current proposal to purchase power from 
renewable energy resources such as wind power. On June 15, 2009, TVA 
announced its intent to conduct a new comprehensive study and EIS 
entitled the Integrated Resource Plan. As appropriate, TVA expects to 
continue to implement the existing portfolio of resource options during 
this EIS process.

CPV Ashley Wind Power Project

    TVA is proposing to execute a 20-year PPA for the purchase of up to 
200 MW of renewable energy from CPV, a direct subsidiary of CPV REC. In 
order to supply this renewable energy, CPV is proposing to construct 
and operate a wind-powered generating facility in McIntosh County, 
North Dakota.
    CPV has not identified the specific turbine model to be utilized at 
the site, but 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 will 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; and construction of an interconnection substation 
facility. A temporary construction staging area is also planned for the 
construction phase of the proposed Project. Three 60-meter-tall 
temporary meteorological towers and one temporary 2-meter-tall Triton 
Wind Profiler have already been installed within the proposed Project 
area, and two additional 60-meter meteorological towers were installed 
in November 2009.
    Two existing high-voltage transmission lines, a Montana Dakota 
Utility Company 230-kV line, and a Basin Electric Power Cooperative 
345-kV line pass through the proposed Project area. The proposed 
Project would interconnect to the MISO electric grid via the 230-kV 
Montana Dakota Utility Company transmission line. TVA has requested a 
transmission capacity study be conducted by the MISO to more fully 
evaluate the transmission capacity in the region for carrying the power 
from the site substation to a TVA transmission grid interconnect. Any 
utility line upgrades or future transmission lines in the proposed 
Project area would be subject to appropriate review under NEPA.
    The proposed Project is located in south-central North Dakota, 
approximately 6 miles north of the city of Ashley. This location was 
selected due to the energetic 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. The proposed 
Project area is defined as approximately 17,400 acres of private land 
under easement with CPV where the proposed Project facilities will be 
located, primarily consisting of pasture and cultivated cropland 
(wheat, soybeans, sunflowers, and corn) with a few rural residences and 
farmsteads. 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 characterized by rolling hills, 
interspersed with many isolated glacial pothole wetlands.
    Construction of the proposed Project would commence in mid-2011, 
with a commercial operation date anticipated in late 2012. CPV has a 
total of over 37,000 acres under easement agreements in McIntosh 
County. Subject to the market for renewables and the success of CPV in 
that market, future phases could be developed; however, there is 
currently no indication that any expansion will occur, and predicting 
whether or not the land would ever be further developed involves 
substantial speculation beyond that need to support the TVA power 
purchase.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    TVA's long-term Strategic Plan includes the objective to reduce its 
environmental footprint through demand reduction and by increasing 
clean energy resources in its generation mix. To address the need for 
additional low or zero carbon-emitting generation beginning in the 2011 
to 2012 time frame and for up to 20 years thereafter, the TVA Board 
recently authorized the purchase of as much as 2,000 MW of renewable 
and clean energy. TVA plans to have half of its power supply from clean 
and renewable energy sources by 2020. Accomplishing this goal will 
require increasing clean generation such as wind power at TVA. 
Achieving these goals would also assist TVA in meeting potential RPS, 
broadening its generation mix, sustaining grid reliability, and meeting 
future consumer demand for electricity through low or no carbon-
emitting facilities. The present

[[Page 5875]]

environmental review would evaluate at least the No Action and the 
Proposed Action Alternative of executing a 20-year PPA for the purchase 
of up to 200 MW of renewable energy from CPV, a direct subsidiary of 
CPV REC. No determination on the environmental acceptability of 
proceeding with a decision to implement the proposed action has been 
made at this time. In making its final decision, TVA will consider the 
assessment in the environmental review, including input provided by 
reviewing agencies and the public.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The impact analyses of the environmental review will include, but 
not necessarily be limited to, evaluating the potential for impacts to 
such resources and issues as geology, topography, and soils; water 
resources including surface water and groundwater, wetlands, and 
floodplains; biological resources such as wildlife (including avian 
species) and vegetation (such as native prairie); threatened and 
endangered species; cultural resources; land use; recreational 
resources; visual resources; noise; air quality; socioeconomics; 
transportation; communication resources; and public safety and 
services. The scope of analysis for the proposed Action Alternative 
would include construction and operation as described above for the 
proposed Project.

Public and Agency Participation

    The EA or EIS is being prepared to inform decision makers and the 
public about the potential environmental impacts of the proposed power 
purchase and resulting construction and operation of the proposed 
Project. The process also will provide the public an opportunity to 
comment on TVA's analyses. Other federal, state, and local agencies and 
governmental entities will be asked to provide scoping comments. These 
agencies will include, but not limited to, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the North Dakota Game and 
Fish Department, and the North Dakota State Historic Preservation 
Office.
    TVA invites the review agencies and the public to submit written or 
e-mail comments on the scope of the environmental review and 
alternatives. It is anticipated that a draft environmental review will 
be available in the late spring or early summer of 2010. If an EA is 
prepared, notice of availability of the draft environmental document 
will be publicized in local news media, and if an EIS is prepared, 
notice will be published in the Federal Register and announced in local 
news media. TVA expects to release a final environmental document in 
the late summer to fall of 2010.

    Dated: January 22, 2010.
Anda A. Ray,
Senior Vice President and Environmental Executive, Environment and 
Technology, Tennessee Valley Authority.
[FR Doc. 2010-2377 Filed 2-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-01-P