Page 346 - Fluid Power Engineering

306 Chapter Fourteen

Critical Issues Analysis
One of the first tasks in project siting is to perform a critical issues anal-
ysis, which is a desktop-based preliminary analysis of all the environ-
mental, regulatory, and compliance issues. American Wind Energy
Association (AWEA)’s siting handbook contains a list of considera-
tions: 1

Required permits, licenses, and regulatory approvals

Threatened or endangered species or habitats

Avian and bat species or habitat

Wetlands and protected areas

Community facilities and services

Land development constraints

Telecommunications interference

Aviation considerations

Visual/aesthetic considerations

Noise and shadow flicker

Locations of known archaeological and historical resources

Other locale-specific considerations

This task may take about 2 months to complete. The analysis will
create a list of locale-specific environmental, regulatory, and compli-
ance issues that should be tackled in the subsequent steps. The output
of this activity should be a work plan and estimate for the subsequent
steps.

Environmental, Regulatory, and Compliance Tasks
The detailed activities associated with this broad category are locale-
specific, as are timeframe and costs associated with these activities.
Details of the activities are described in Chapter 12.
Utility Interconnection Study
For large wind farms, the duration of this step is at least 9 months
and, in most cases, it takes about 18 months. Since it is a long lead-
time activity, it should be started as soon as detailed wind assessment
is complete and a decision has been made to proceed with the project.
Details of the interconnection study are described in Chapter 11.

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
PPA is a legal contract between the wind project and the utility. If the
utility that is buying the energy has experience with wind projects,
then it may propose a standard contract. The duration of this task is
at least 2 months for a simple project and may take 6 months or more.
The reason for a high degree of variance is that it requires negotiations