Project: The Grande Prairie Wind Farm Final

Project: The Grande Prairie Wind Farm Final Environmental Impact Statement
Proponent: Grande Prairie Wind, LLC
Agency: Western Area Power Administration
Purpose and Need Statements from the Final EIS:
NEPA
Trigger
Regulatory
Authority
“Purpose and Need for Agency Action
Grande Prairie Wind requests to interconnect its proposed Project with Western’s Transmission
System at Western's Fort Thompson to Grand Island transmission line. Western’s purpose and
need is to consider and respond to the interconnection request in accordance with its Open
Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) and the Federal Power Act.
Agency
P&N
Under the Tariff, Western offers capacity on its transmission system to deliver electricity when
capacity is available. The Tariff also contains terms for processing requests for the
interconnection of generation facilities to Western’s transmission system. In reviewing
interconnection requests, Western must ensure that existing reliability and service is not
degraded. Western’s Tariff provides for transmission and system studies to ensure that system
reliability and service to existing customers are not adversely affected by new interconnections.
These studies also identify system upgrades or additions necessary to accommodate the
proposed Project and address whether the upgrades/additions are within the project scope.
Grande Prairie Wind’s Purpose and Need
Grande Prairie Wind, LLC is a Delaware Limited Liability Company formed as a single purpose
entity to construct, own, operate and maintain the proposed Project.
Proponent
Purpose
and Need
Technical
Information
Description of
Proponent
The Project is being proposed in order to meet the growing demand for energy production from
clean, environmentally friendly, renewable sources. The specific Project location was selected
after a series of wind resource, transmission, and desktop environmental fatal flaw analyses (e.g.
reviewing protected species habitat) indicated that the area north and east of O’Neill in Holt
County could support a 400-MW wind farm. Continuous study of the wind resource since 2008
has proven this Project area to be one of Nebraska’s premier wind development sites, thereby
allowing the proposed Project to compete with projects in other States. The Project has a Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Omaha Public Power District for all 400 MWs.”
Interconnection
details