12-4-2010 Parhump Valley Times

Crescent Dunes OK expected Dec. 20

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued its final environmental impact statement for the Crescent Dunes solar power plant, a proposed 100-megawatt facility 13 miles northwest of Tonopah.

The record of decision is expected by Dec. 20, according to Tim Coward, renewable energy manager of the BLM Tonopah Field Office.

Tonopah Solar Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Solar Reserve, applied for a right-of-way on 7,680 acres of public land. It is the third major solar project in Nevada to reach this stage, on Oct. 12 the BLM approved a record of decision for the 400-megawatt Silver State Solar Project near Primm and a record of decision was issued for the Solar Millennium 450-megawatt solar project in Amargosa Valley on Nov. 15.

The project involves using a series of heliostats, or mirrors, to focus solar energy on a 653-foot tower. A fluid is heated as it passes through this central receiver to generate steam which powers the turbines. A thermal storage tank can store the hot and cold liquid salt. The plant will produce enough power for 40,000 homes.

A 230-kilovolt transmission line will extend 9.5 miles to the Anaconda Moly substation.

The EIS notes the influx of workers into the small, nearby towns may impact local services. Tonopah Solar Energy will enter into a development agreement with Nye County and the town of Tonopah that will address those impacts, while providing its own fire protection. For backup, the Tonopah Volunteer Fire Department has 14 emergency medical technicians and three ambulances along with two volunteer Hazmat teams.

The project is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs at the peak of the 30-month construction period and 200 jobs once the solar plant is operational.

Danny Costella, of Ironworkers Local No. 18 in Sparks, said the project would train apprentices that will lead to a future workforce. Duane Kramer of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 401 in Reno said the project will be important to the local economy, the job market and the future of renewable energies.

The Crescent Dunes project will be allowed up to 600 acre feet of water per year, about 10 percent of the annual yield of the Lower Smoky Valley hydrographic basin. An acre foot is roughly the amount needed to provide for two families in one year. It was noted however the hydrographic basin is over-appropriated with more water rights than the perennial yield.

An avian and bat protection plan is being reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, out of concern for animals like the golden eagle, the BLM said. John Hiatt, chairman of the Red Rock Audubon Society, complained that plan wasn't available for review in the final EIS.

The Audubon Society was concerned the project would permanently alter 1,700 acres of marginal habitat and 600 acre-feet of water rights. The Audubon Society also wanted reports on bird mortality from colliding with the tower and mirrors.

The BLM consulted with the U.S. Department of Defense on any concerns with glare from the mirrors affecting pilots using the Nellis Air Force Range 40 miles east. The U.S. Air Force nixed two other proposed sites for the project closer to the Air Force Range at Mud Lake, next to the Tonopah Airport and Peavine Creek near Hadley.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had concerns that though the power plant will use a hybrid cooling technology to reduce water use, it could still result in drawdowns of 1 to 1.5 feet in nearby wells. The BLM said that amount of drawdown was not significant over a 53-year period. The BLM also determined the well that has to be drilled to the 150-foot groundwater depth was very steep and proximate to the well, and would result in a negligible effect on nearby wells or springs.

The company is using water purchased from irrigation water rights 10.6 miles north of the project. The notice to proceed won't be issued until proof of those water rights is received from the Nevada Division of Water Resources.

The EPA felt mitigation measures, like covering evaporation ponds to protect species like the pale kangaroo mouse, bats, golden eagles and migratory birds, were needed. But the Nevada Division of Wildlife felt the covering wasn't required.

The project wouldn't impact elk, mule deer and big horn sheep populations, according to the BLM.

The project would only impact a small part of the habitat of a sensitive plant species, the Nevada orcytes. Two species of beetle — the Crescent Dune Aegilian scrub beetle and the Serican scarab beetle — have been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act, the mapped ecosystem of both species on the dunes will be avoided. That was in response to concerns raised by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Another comment published in the final EIS asked the company to shield to the extent possible, the lighting, referring to tourist promotions of the dark skies around Tonopah. Skip Canfield, of the State Land Use Planning Advisory Council, called Tonopah "the Dark Sky Capital of the World." The Mojave-Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council concurred dark skies are a dwindling attribute.

The BLM told Kevin Emmerich and Laura Cunningham of Beatty, representing Basin and Range Watch, the project itself will only use 1,600 acres, the rest of the 7,680 acres requested will protect against any adverse impacts to natural resources.

Ann McGaw, of Tonopah, said she was supportive of the project, but worried renewable energy would be more expensive, at about 13 cents per kilowatt hour compared to eight cents with conventional power plants. The BLM said rates would be approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

The potential for mineral development in the area is summarized as low. Five lithium mining claims were filed last April, but no applications for mine exploration or development were submitted by the time the final EIS was issued.

The BLM concludes closing off the 1,600 acres is unlikely to prevent access to a number of other mineral sites in the area.