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by Environmental News Network The same wind that spread radioactive dust from nuclear explosions at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site during the 1990s may soon be generating electricity for Nevada and other Western states. A 1,069-acre wind farm on the Nevada Test Site about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas is in the final planning stages. The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE, NNSA) took public comments during the past 30 days on the scope of a proposed environmental impact statement for the wind farm. The environmental impact statement will address potential environmental impacts of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the wind farm. An agreement signed in January between the Energy Department and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will result in the second largest wind-power farm in the United States. Reid played a key role in obtaining the easement on the property from the Nevada Test Site Development Corporation (NTSDC), a nonprofit corporation that works with the Department of Energy to promote the growth of science and technology in Nevada. The deal allows the NTSDC, the designated community reuse organization for the Nevada Test Site, together with M&N Wind Power Inc. and Siemens to construct, operate, and maintain a wind farm at the test site. Plans provide for up to 545 wind turbines generating up to 600 megawatts of electricity. A megawatt is enough electricity to power 1,000 typical American homes. "The time is right to embrace new forms of clean energy, and Nevada is the right location to build a pollution-free wind farm that will serve as a source for that much needed power," said Sen. Reid. The current power shortage in California has focused national attention on the need for more generation facilities in the Western United States. Several states have adopted renewable energy portfolio standards requiring utilities to purchase power from renewable energy sources. The proposed facilities would support the need for additional generation and provide utilities the opportunity to meet their requirements to purchase renewable energy. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the total wind energy potential of California and five other Western states - Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and Oregon - is more than 600,000 MW. "There are limits to how much of this resource can be tapped in the near term, primarily because of limited transmission-line capacity," said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher. "But wind should be at the top of the list as California looks for new sources of electricity." In November 2000, the National Nuclear Security Administration in Nevada (NNSA/NV) began preparing an environmental assessment for the proposed project. The draft assessment was provided for review and comment to Nevada state agencies, other federal agencies, affiliated American Indian tribes, and other interested parties in March 2001. Several issues were raised by the commentors: land use on the surrounding Nevada Test Site, inadequacy of current power distribution systems, and the potential impacts on cultural and biological resources at the proposed sites. Based upon its analysis, NNSA/NV has determined that an environmental assessment would not support a finding of no significant impact. Since a significant impact is expected, a formal environmental impact statement is being prepared. The environmental impact statement will consider three locations, all on the Nevada Test Site: Pahute Mesa and the Shoshone Mountain area which is the preferred alternative, Skull Mountain, and Rainier Mesa. These locations have been suggested as suitable for wind-power development because they are located at high elevations near steep-sided ridges and have winds of sufficient velocity and duration to make wind power economically feasible. Electrical power from the wind farms would be collected by cable systems and fed to one or two proposed substations on the Nevada Test Site. Because the existing 138-kilovolt power loop on the test site can handle only 85 MW, a limited number of turbines could be interconnected to it at any given time. A new transmission line to handle the full 600 megawatts the proposed wind farm would generate is proposed for construction along the existing Forty Mile Canyon power corridor. Issues for analysis in the environmental impact statement include impacts to cultural resources with archeological significance on Shoshone Mountain and Pahute Mesa and impacts to resources and sites important to the 17 Native American tribes with cultural affiliation to the Nevada Test Site. Impacts to plants, animals, and habitats, including threatened or endangered species and their habitats, associated with clearing, grading, and constructing roads and operating wind turbines in previously undisturbed areas will be considered. The consumption of natural resources and energy associated with constructing and operating a wind turbine farm also will be evaluated. Any potential irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources associated with locating, constructing, and operating a wind farm on the Nevada Test Site will be assessed. Comments on the proposed scope of the wind farm environmental impact statement are still welcome from the public. To ensure concerns are considered in the environmental impact statement, comments must be postmarked by Aug. 24. Late comments will be considered to the extent practical. Email Kevin Thornton at nepa@nv.doe.gov Source:http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/08/08232001/nuclearwind_44720.asp
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