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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) based on completion of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to describe and evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the Frito Lay Biomass Boiler Project.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to issue a loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind LLC (Record Hill) for the construction of a 50.6 megawatt (MW) wind energy project located in Roxbury, Maine. DOE has prepared this Final Environmental Assessment (EA) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 United States Code [USC] 4321, et. seq.) Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500–1508) and DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR Part 1021). The EA examines the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action, as well as alternatives considered prior to application, and determines whether the proposed action has the potential for significant environmental impacts. The information contained in the EA would enable DOE to fully consider the potential environmental impacts of issuing a loan guarantee for the Record Hill project.
Based upon the environmental assessment, DOE has determined that the adoption of the amended energy conservation standards for commercial packaged boilers and new energy conservation standards for water-cooled and evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a cooling capacity at or above 240,000 Btu/h and less than 760,000 Btu/h would not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
Based on findings and analysis in the EA, Western has determined that with the resource protection measures, the Perrin Ranch Wind Energy Interconnection Project (Proposed Action) would not result in any significant environmental impacts. Therefore, preparation of environmental impact statement (EIS) will not be required. The basis for this determination is described in this FONSI.
Perrin Ranch Wind submitted an interconnection request to Western in 2010 to interconnect the proposed project to the existing Moenkopi-Yavapai 500-kV transmission line. Western is responding to Perrin Ranch Wind’s application for interconnection. The primary purpose of the project is to provide wind-generated electricity from a site in Arizona to further the objectives of the President’s National Energy Policy to diversify energy sources by making greater use of non-hydroelectric renewable sources, such as wind power (National Energy Policy Development Group 2001), and to meet customer demand for competitively priced energy from renewable resources. During the meteorological (MET) tower sitings, NextEra conducted wind generation pre-NEPA studies at the Perrin Ranch location. These feasibility studies indicate favorable conditions (including but not limited to high-wind presence, existing energy transmission availability, and topographic conditions) at the project location. The interconnection is subject to environmental review under NEPA. Therefore, the underlying purpose is to analyze the project’s wind-generated energy and the effects it may have on the surrounding environment. Per an existing power purchase agreement with APS, Perrin Ranch Wind needs to develop, operate, and maintain the generation infrastructure in order to develop the renewable wind resource.
DOE prepared this EA to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of providing a financial assistance grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in a cooperative agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM). If ADM received the funding, the company would demonstrate an integrated system of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture in an industrial setting and geologic sequestration in a sandstone reservoir. The CO2 that would be sequestered is currently a by-product of ADM’s Decatur fuel-grade ethanol production facility.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided a grant to the Town of Hempstead, New York (the Town) under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, and Town Hempstead intends to use the funds to design, permit, and construct a 100-kilowatt wind turbine at Point Lookout, New York. The proposed project would include installation of an underground electrical line from the turbine to the station. The system would convert wind energy to electricity and use that to power an electrolyzer to make pure hydrogen for the Town’s fueling facility for the Town’s small fleet of vehicles (proposed project). DOE provided the grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Program. DOE’s Proposed Action would authorize a total of $400,000 in grant expenditures by the Town of Hempstead. The total cost of the Town’s proposed project would be approximately $600,000. DOE has authorized the Town to use a percentage of the Federal funding for preliminary activities, which includes project planning and support for the development of this EA. The preliminary activities are associated with the proposed project and do not significantly impact the environment nor represent an irreversible or irretrievable commitment by DOE in advance of the conclusion of the EA.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided Federal funding to the Washington Department of Commerce under the State Energy Program (SEP). Washington selected a Nippon Paper Industries USA Company (Nippon) project for a $600,000 grant and $1.4 million loan under the SEP. Nippon’s proposed project is to construct and operate a new biomass-fueled cogeneration facility that would produce both heat and power at its existing paper mill in Port Angeles, Clallam County, Washington.
Granite Reliable Power, LLC, a subsidiary of Noble Environmental Power, has applied for a permit from the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers for authorization to discharge dredged or fill materials into jurisdictional waters of the United States in connection with the proposed construction of a wind-driven electrical power generating facility in Coos County, New Hampshire.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) based on completion of an Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the: Cuyahoga County Agricultural Society Wind Energy Project; Berea, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.