More than 110 people attended two open houses in Rawlins and Saratoga, Wyo., earlier this week to learn more about Power Company of Wyoming LLC's (PCW) Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind project, according to the company.
The meetings were hosted by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to highlight information in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project – which was published in July after more than three years of environmental analysis – and to gather written comments for consideration in BLM's final EIS, expected to be published next year.
The BLM and PCW representatives attended the meeting to explain such things as how and where the proposed 2 GW to 3 GW project would be built, what the wind project would look like from various public vantage points, and how the federal environmental analysis will proceed.
PCW also discussed how its conservation plan is designed to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the site's existing wildlife and ecosystems. The company displayed its avian radar system outside each of the venues.
The BLM will continue to accept written comments on the draft EIS through Oct. 19. To review the draft EIS, visit the BLM website at blm.gov.
