Ely Times 10-21-2010 article "BLM signs DOR for Spring Valley Wind Farm; right of way, bonding last hurdle"

Mary D'Aversa, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada Ely District's Schell Field Office Manager, signed the Decision Record (DOR) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on Oct. 15 for Spring Valley Wind, LLC's, proposed Spring Valley Wind Project.
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The BLM will not issue the Notice to Proceed until the right-of-way grant has been signed and the company has provided the required bonding. The 150-megawatt wind generation farm would be constructed on 7,673 acres of the public lands in north Spring Valley, about 30 miles east of Ely.

"Spring Valley Wind would be the first renewable wind-energy project approved in Nevada and will utilize state-of-the art technology," D'Aversa said. "This project also would create approximately 225 construction jobs and 10-12 permanent operation jobs."

Power generated by the proposed Spring Valley Wind Project would stay in Nevada. NV Energy has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Spring Valley Wind to purchase its 150 MW of wind energy, which would provide power to approximately 45,000 homes in Nevada. The PPA also will help NV Energy meet the State's Renewable Portfolio Standard of generating a minimum of 12 percent of its power from renewable resources in 2009-2010."

The project would consist of 75 wind turbines, electrical substation and utilize an existing 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line for distribution. The project was analyzed in an environmental assessment (EA), which is tiered to the 2005 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Wind Energy Development.

Copies of the EA, DR, and FONSI are available on the web at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/ely_field_office.html. This decision may be appealed within 30 days of signing. The appeal process is explained in the Decision Record.

On October 6, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a lease agreement with Cape Wind Associates LLC for a 130-turbine offshore wind farm that could generate up to 468 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity for Nantucket Sound communities. It was the nation's first lease for commercial wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf. Spring Valley Wind would be one of several renewable energy projects that will help Nevada and the nation build a clean energy economy.