Abstract
ShellWind Energy (SWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is proposing to construct a commercial, utility‐scale wind energy generation facility that would be located near Tie Siding, Wyoming, in Albany County. At full build‐out, the Hermosa West Wind Energy Project (Project) would include up to 200 wind turbines with a combined generating capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. The wind turbines would be configured along 11 strings, oriented north to south to capture prevailing winds on an 11,125‐acre site. In addition to the turbines, other proposed Project facilities would include all‐weather access roads, underground power collection lines linking turbines to the Project substation, the Project substation and switchyard, a short (approximately 0.3‐mile) high‐voltage gen‐tie line linking the Project substation to Western’s transmission system, a low voltage distribution line, operation and maintenance facilities, backup power for the 345‐kilovolt substation/switchyard site, supervisory control and data acquisition equipment and metering equipment, and up to four permanent meteorological towers. The proposed Project would be located on private and state land; no federally‐managed land would be affected.
Western’s purpose and need is to consider SWE’s interconnection request under its Open Access Transmission Service Tariff (Tariff), which is compliant with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order No. 888 establishing open access to power transmission systems (18 CFR Parts 35 and 385). Under the Tariff, Western must either approve or deny the interconnection request.
Western’s decision to approve or deny the interconnection request, and to construct an interconnection facility (switchyard) financed by SWE for operational control of the interconnection is considered a major Federal action subject to NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA, and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures (40 CFR Parts 1500−1508, 10 CFR Part 1021). This environmental impact statement (EIS) is prepared in accordance with NEPA requirements to analyze the potential effects to the natural and human environments associated with approving or denying the interconnection request. As part of the analysis, Western is disclosing the potential effects to the natural and human environments resulting from SWE’s proposed Project. This EIS analysis also includes a federal “No Action” alternative under which Western would not consider an interconnection agreement with SWE and the proposed Project would not be constructed and interconnected with Western’s transmission system.
Appendices:
- Appendix A: Facilities study
- Appendix B: Threatened and Endangered Species Report
- Appendix C: Surface Water Assessment Report
- Appendix D: Wetland Assessment Reports
- Appendix E: Wildlife Baseline Studies
- Appendix F: Bat Acoustical Studies
- Appendix G: Tribal Consultation Letter
- Appendix H: Paleontologic Resources Analysis
- Appendix I: Noise Assessment
- Appendix J: Transportation Analysis
- Appendix K: Recreation and Land Use Assessment
- Appendix L: Social and Economic Impacts
- Appendix M: Lease Area-Potential for Development of Economic Resources
- Appendix N: Preliminary Geotechnical Inversigation Results
- Appendix O: Second Geotechnical Investigation Results
- Appendix P: Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment
- Appendix Q: Viewshed Analysis