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13.3 WAH WAH VALLEY 1 2 3 13.3.1 Background and Summary of Impacts 4 5 6 13.3.1.1 General Information 7 8 the Proposed Wah Wa

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13.3 WAH WAH VALLEY 1 2 3 13.3.1 Background and Summary of Impacts 4 5 6 13.3.1.1 General Information 7 8 the Proposed Wah Wa 1 13.3 WAH WAH VALLEY 2 3 4 13.3.1 Background and Summary of Impacts 5 6 7 13.3.1.1 General Information 8 9 The proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ is located in Beaver County in southwestern Utah 10 about 21 mi (34 km) northwest of the proposed Milford Flats South SEZ (Figure 13.3.1.1-1). The 11 SEZ has a total area of 6,097 acres (25 km2). In 2008, the county population was 7,265, while 12 adjacent Iron County to the south had a population of 45,833. The largest nearby town is Cedar 13 City, Utah, about 50 mi (80 km) southeast in Iron County. The town of Milford is located about 14 23 mi (37 km) east. Salt Lake City lies about 200 mi (322 km) north–northeast. 15 16 There is good access to the SEZ from State Route 21, which runs from west to east 17 through the northern half of the SEZ. Access to the interior of the SEZ is by dirt roads. The 18 nearest UP Railroad stop is 23 mi (37 km) away in Milford. The nearest airport is also in 19 Milford; the Milford Municipal Airport. Transmission access to the Wah Wah Valley SEZ 20 currently does not exist. The nearest existing transmission line is a north–south running 130-kV 21 line about 42 mi (68 km) east of the SEZ. However, a Section 368 designated energy corridor 22 on BLM lands runs east–west through the site along State Route 21; thus, access to the lands 23 required to construct transmission is available. 24 25 As of February 2010, there were no ROW applications for solar projects within the SEZ. 26 27 The proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ is in a rural area. There is a ranch with some land 28 under irrigation on the northern boundary of the site. The SEZ is located in Wah Wah Valley, a 29 narrow, north–south trending valley northwest of the Escalante Desert across the Shauntie Hills, 30 and lying between the Wah Wah Mountains to the west and southwest, the Shauntie Hills to the 31 south and southeast, and the San Francisco Mountains to the east. Land within the SEZ is 32 undeveloped scrubland, characteristic of a high-elevation, semiarid basin. 33 34 The proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ and other relevant information are shown in 35 Figure 13.3.1.1-1. The criteria used to identify the SEZ as an appropriate location for solar 36 energy development included proximity to existing transmission or designated corridors, 37 proximity to existing roads, a slope of generally less than 2%, and an area of more than 38 2,500 acres (11 km2). In addition, the area was identified as being relatively free of other types 39 of conflicts, such as USFWS-designated critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, 40 ACECs, SRMAs, and NLCS lands (see Section 2.2.2.2 for the complete list of exclusions). 41 Although these classes of restricted lands were excluded from the proposed Wah Wah Valley 42 SEZ, other restrictions might be appropriate. The analyses in the following sections evaluate 43 the affected environment and potential impacts associated with utility-scale solar energy 44 development in the proposed SEZ for important environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic 45 resources. 46 Draft Solar PEIS 13.3-1 December 2010 1 2 FIGURE 13.3.1.1-1 Proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ Draft Solar PEIS 13.3-2 December 2010 1 As initially announced in the Federal Register on June 30, 2009, the proposed Wah Wah 2 Valley SEZ encompasses 3,676 acres (15 km2). Subsequent to the study area scoping period, 3 2,422 acres (10 km2) were added at the south end of the study area, on the basis of further 4 observations at the BLM Cedar City Field Office indicating that this additional area met all 5 criteria for solar development. 6 7 8 13.3.1.2 Development Assumptions for the Impact Analysis 9 10 Maximum solar development of the Wah Wah Valley SEZ is assumed to be 80% of the 11 SEZ area over a period of 20 years; a maximum of 4,878 acres (20 km2). These values are shown 12 in Table 13.3.1.2-1, along with other development assumptions. Full development of the Wah 13 Wah Valley SEZ would allow development of facilities with an estimated total of 542 MW of 14 electrical power capacity if power tower, dish engine, or PV technologies were used, assuming 15 9 acres/MW (0.04 km2/MW) of land required, and an estimated 976 MW of power if solar 16 trough technologies were used, assuming 5 acres/MW (0.02 km2/MW) of land required. 17 18 Availability of transmission from SEZs to load centers will be an important consideration 19 for future development in SEZs. The nearest existing transmission line is a 138-kV line 42 mi 20 (68 km) east of the SEZ. It is possible that a new transmission line could be constructed from the 21 SEZ to that existing line, but the 138-kV capacity of that line would be inadequate for 542 to 22 976 MW of new capacity (a 500-kV line can accommodate approximately the load of one 23 700-MW facility). At full build-out capacity, it is clear that new transmission and/or upgrades of 24 existing transmission lines (in addition to or instead of construction of a connection to the nearest 25 existing line) would be required to bring electricity from the proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ to 26 load centers; however, at this time the location and size of such new transmission facilities are 27 unknown. Generic impacts of transmission and associated infrastructure construction and of line 28 upgrades for various resources are discussed in Chapter 5. Project-specific analyses would need 29 to identify the specific impacts of new transmission construction and line upgrades for any 30 projects proposed within the SEZ. 31 32 For purposes of as complete an analysis of impacts of SEZ development in the SEZ as 33 possible, it was assumed that, at a minimum, a transmission line segment would be constructed 34 from the proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ to the nearest existing transmission line to connect 35 the SEZ to the transmission grid. This assumption was made without additional information 36 on whether the nearest existing transmission line would actually be available for connection 37 of future solar facilities, and without assumptions about upgrades of the line. This was also a 38 simplifying assumption for purposes of analysis; an actual new line would likely follow the 39 route of the designated corridor where available. Establishing a connection to the line closest 40 to the Wah Wah Valley SEZ would involve the construction of about 42 mi (68 km) of new 41 transmission line outside of the SEZ. The ROW for this transmission line would occupy 42 approximately 1,273 acres (5.2 km2) of land, assuming a 250-ft (76-m) wide ROW, a typical 43 width for such a ROW. If a connecting transmission line were constructed to a different 44 offsite grid location in the future, site developers would need to determine the impacts from 45 construction and operation of that line. In addition, developers would need to determine the 46 impacts of line upgrades, if they were needed. Draft Solar PEIS 13.3-3 December 2010 TABLE 13.3.1.2-1 Proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ—Assumed Development Acreages, Solar MW Output, Access Roads, and Transmission Line ROWs Assumed Distance Assumed Total Acreage Maximum Distance to and Capacity Area of and Assumed SEZ Output Nearest State, of Nearest Transmission Distance to Developed for Various U.S. or Existing Line ROW Nearest Acreage Solar Interstate Transmission and Road Designated (80% of Total) Technologies Highway Line ROW Corridorf 6,097 acres and 542 MWb and State Route 21: 42 mid and 1,273 acres; Adjacent 4,878 acresa 976 MWc adjacent 130 kV NAe a To convert acres to km2, multiply by 0.004047. b Maximum power output if the SEZ were fully developed using power tower, dish engine, or PV technologies, assuming 9 acres/MW (0.04 km2/MW) of land required. c Maximum power output if the SEZ were fully developed using solar trough technologies, assuming 5 acres/MW (0.02 km2/MW) of land required. d To convert mi to km, multiply by 1.609. e NA = no access road construction is assumed necessary for Wah Wah Valley. f BLM-designated corridors are developed for federal land use planning purposes only and are not applicable to state-owned or privately owned land. 1 2 3 Existing road access to the proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ should be adequate to support 4 construction and operation of solar facilities, because State Route 21 runs from west to east 5 through the northern portion of the SEZ. Thus, no additional road construction outside of the 6 SEZ is assumed to be required to support solar development. 7 8 9 13.3.1.3 Summary of Major Impacts and SEZ-Specific Design Features 10 11 In this section, the impacts and SEZ-specific design features assessed in Sections 13.3.2 12 through 13.3.21 for the proposed Wah Wah Valley SEZ are summarized in tabular form. 13 Table 13.3.1.3-1 is a comprehensive list of impacts discussed in these sections; the reader may 14 reference the applicable sections for detailed support of the impact assessment.
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