Wyandotte Integrated Renewable Energy Strategy – WIRES 2 Award Number: DE-FG36-06GO86090 CX(s) Applied: B5.1 Technologies Office Date: 03/07/2014 Location(s): MI Office(s): Golden Field Office
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
February 25, 2016
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Wyandotte Integrated Renewable Energy Strategy – WIRES 2
Award Number: DE- FG36-06GO86090
CX(s) Applied: B5.1
Technologies Office
Date: 03/07/2014
Location(s): MI
Office(s): Golden Field Office
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to provide federal funding to Wyandotte Municipal Services (WMS) to research, design and develop five, separate but inter-related, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that would reduce the City of Wyandotte’s environmental and energy impact and encourage businesses and citizens to adopt cleaner energy practices. Through a project titled, “The Wyandotte Integrated Renewable Energy Strategy – Wyandotte WIRES 2”, WMS proposes to develop projects to include; community-scale micro-wind turbines, hybrid wind/solar technologies, LED powered municipal lights, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for plug-in vehicles, an expanded geothermal heating and cooling district, and a job training program for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and a public and educational outreach program.
All proposed new installations would replace previously existing lights and poles. No new locations for lighting are being proposed. Specific areas of installation would include the Fort St. corridor, Bishop Park, FOP Park, Pulaski Park and a short strip along Sycamore Avenue between Biddle and 3rd Avenue. Installations between Biddle and 3rd Avenue and those in Bishop Park would occur within or near historic properties/districts. An “effect” is defined in the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) regulations as the alteration to the characteristics of a historic property qualifying it for inclusion in or eligibility for the National Register (36 CFR 800.16(i)). Any adverse impact to historic properties associated with modern streetlights already exists at this time and the replacement of modern streetlights with more efficient modern streetlights does not constitute an effect under the NHPA regulations, therefore DOE has determined that Phase 2 Task 1 has “no potential to cause effects” (36 CFR 800.3 (a)(1)) to historic properties. Consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer under Section 106 of the NHPA is not required.