Contact: Timothy Le Monds or Teresa Smith (608) 266-9600
MADISON -– Today the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) issued the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed wind electric generating facility, Glacier Hills Wind Park, in northeast Columbia County.
The proposed wind park project would consist of a 90-turbine wind facility with a capacity of up to 207 MW within 17,350 acres of predominately agricultural land in the townships of Randolph and Scott. The draft EIS is a thorough review and analysis of the proposed project, including the need for the project, the alternatives considered, its cost and short- and long-term potential impacts of building the facility.
In October 2008, Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) filed an application with the PSC for permission to build the facility. The facility would consist of the turbines, access roads to the turbines, an underground 34.5 kilovolt system to collect the power produced at each turbine, a new substation to connect to the existing electric transmission system and an operations and maintenance building that would house a supervisory control and data acquisition system to monitor turbine operation.
Comments on the draft EIS will be accepted for 45 days after the document is issued, and are due by Friday, September 4, 2009. Comments received on the draft EIS will be considered when the final EIS is prepared. Hearings to take testimony from the public regarding the proposed project and the final EIS are expected to be held late October or early November 2009. The exact dates and times have yet to be determined.
The PSC has the authority to approve, deny or modify proposed an electric construction project, such as this one. To ensure a full and complete record, the PSC follows a process outlined by state law for every case. Part of this process is to perform a thorough environmental review and to gather input from the public.
To review the final report, visit the PSC’s website at http://psc.wi.gov and click on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System (ERF) button and enter docket number 6630-CE-302.
