Aug. 19, 2011 – Last month the Bureau of Land Management released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, a 2,000-3,000 megawatt wind farm proposed by Power Company of Wyoming LLC in south-central Wyoming.

As BLM prepares the Final Environmental Impact Statement, BLM officials will host two open house meetings next week to provide opportunities for the public to review the Draft EIS, ask questions and provide written comments for consideration. The meetings will be:

• Monday, Aug. 22, at the Jeffrey Memorial Community Center in Rawlins, 4 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga, 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

The Draft EIS is posted on the BLM project website and may be reviewed at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/wyoming/ccsm.

The Draft EIS notes several benefits related to this wind project, including how it will create and sustain thousands of construction, manufacturing, services and operations jobs; will provide Carbon County communities and Wyoming with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue; and will advance federal renewable energy goals.

Because of the exceptional wind resources across the site, PCW’s wind project also will be able to efficiently provide high-volume, cost-effective renewable electricity supplies to help people who live in densely populated areas of California, Nevada and Arizona – states that need more renewable energy to meet their mandated renewable energy goals.

Comments can be submitted by e-mail at WYMail_PCW_windfarm@blm.gov or by mail to:
Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project
Pam Murdock, Project Manager
BLM Rawlins Field Office
1300 North Third Street
Rawlins, WY 82301 

To be considered in the Final EIS, public comments are requested by Oct. 19, which marks the end of the 90-day comment period. The Final EIS is expected to be released in mid-2012.

For more information about PCW and the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, visit www.powercompanyofwyoming.com.

For more information about BLM’s programs and goals regarding renewable energy generation and transmission development on federal land, visit http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/renewable_energy.html.

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