The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Las Vegas Field Office will host four public scoping meetings to seek input on the Crescent Peak Wind Energy Project, proposed on public lands 10 miles west of Searchlight, Nev., the agency has announced.
The project would extend 22 miles north-to-south and five miles east-to-west adjacent to the California/Nevada border, says the BLM. The associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will identify needs for the construction, operation and eventual decommissioning of wind turbines and associated facilities.
The project, owned by Eolus North America Inc., would consist of 80-160 wind turbines for a total installed capacity of 300 MW-500 MW. That is enough energy to meet the annual needs of 75,000-125,000 homes, says Eolus. Crescent Peak Wind’s Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register on March 15, the developer notes.
Although the project’s study area consists of 28,785 acres, Eolus expects the overall footprint area for the wind turbines, roads, staging areas, buildings and work pads to be less than 900 acres. To date, extensive avian, flora, fauna, cultural and wind resource studies have been conducted at the wind project’s site, and these studies are ongoing, the developer notes.
The two-year construction of the project is expected to bring 200-400 jobs. In addition, Eolus anticipates an additional 20-40 local jobs for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the wind project.
Public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates:
- Monday, April 9 – Searchlight Community Center, 200 Michael Wendell Way, Searchlight, NV 89046
- Tuesday, April 10 – Palo Verde College, Room CS123/124, 725 West Broadway St., Needles, CA 92363
- Wednesday, April 11 – Santa Fe Station, Centennial Room, 4949 North Rancho Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89130
- Thursday, April 12 – Henderson Convention Center, Sierra Rooms A, B & C, 200 South Water St., Henderson, NV 89015
All meetings will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will follow the same format. Presentations will be given at 5 p.m., followed by an open house meeting, during which BLM staffers and project proponents will be available to answer questions until 5:45 p.m. At 5:45 p.m., a second presentation (duplicate of first) will be given followed by an open house meeting, during which BLM staffers and project proponents will again be available to answer questions until 6:30 p.m. The final hour and a half will be a public hearing, during which individuals will have the opportunity to offer public comment. A court reporter will be available to record comments during the entirety of the public scoping meetings.
The public comment period opened on March 15 and will close on June 13. The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including alternatives. The BLM has identified the following preliminary issues: biological resources, visual resources, cultural resources, tribal interests, recreation and cumulative impacts.
More information on how to submit comments can be found here.
