ââ¬ËTime is money,' developer says HNWD seeks expedited approval from SCC
BY ANNE ADAMS • STAFF WRITER
RICHMOND - When or whether Virginia's first industrial wind energy utility is built in Highland County is now in the hands of the State Corporation Commission.
Highland New Wind Development, LLC filed its application for a certificate to construct and operate a 39-megawatt, $60 million plant Tuesday. The company requests approval from the SCC by March 1, preferably with no public hearing.
In his cover letter to the SCC, HNWD attorney John Flora says the application qualifies for the commission's streamlined requirements for utilities under 50 megawatts. In addition, he points to information from a 2003 federal review of the proposal made when the developer applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, and the review by Highland County officials and citizens over the course of more than two years. "We respectfully request that your expedited process for approval be completed by March 1, 2006," he states.
HNWD's H.T. "Mac" McBride says he's excited to get the project going. "We've had various public meetings, and we've talked about everything under the sun … It's been a long hard fight," he said Wednesday. "I've been called everything under the sun except what I should have been called." Asked what he should have been called, McBride said, "Better than you (The Recorder) called me."
The March approval request is important for the company because "time is money," McBride said.
SCC Division of Information Resources Director Kenneth J. Schrad says the commission has only received one other application under the streamlined process. Legislators had asked the SCC to create rules for streamlining applications for smaller utilities in 2002, and the process does not require quite as much information from applicants. "But we've only had one application since those rules were in place," Schrad said. "And that was a little methane plant out in Chesterfield that no one was opposed to."
Whether the SCC expedites permit approval for HNWD depends on the complexity of the application, Schrad said. "It also depends on the level of public acceptance and on opposition. The commission will give all interested participants due process." The length of time it takes to review the application will depend on the level of response from those who seek to formally participate in opposing the plan.
Flora states in his letter HNWD had been advised by the SCC if there were public opposition, even in a streamlined process, the commission "would likely conduct a public hearing. There has been and will continue to be public opposition."
Flora says HNWD "respectfully suggests that in lieu of a public hearing, you accept written, scientific reports and commentary limited to the topic of the impact of the HNWD project on birds, bats and endangered species balanced of course against the positive impact of the project as a whole."
Supervisor Robin Sullenberger says he would be surprised if no public hearing was held. "The folks I come in contact with (in Richmond) all seem to view Highland County as the sort of test case, and I don't think they're interested in passing through (that fast)," he said Wednesday.
The time needed to review the application will also in part be "dictated by review of the DEQ," says Schrad.
Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality will be largely responsible for coordinating reviews for a number of issues including impacts on water, forestation, wildlife, and natural or historic resources.
The SCC, Schrad said, is fully aware of its role in reviewing the application. "This is the first facility like it (commissioners) have seen. I mean, we're setting ground here."
HNWD's permit from the SCC can be granted with conditions, Schrad explained. Some of those may include the condition that all other review processes are completed. Since the county is embroiled in lawsuits surrounding its 2-1 controversial decision to grant a local permit to HNWD, the SCC may also place a condition that local zoning and permitting be in good standing. "My guess is, that sort of trumps anything else," Schrad says. "Without local authority to construct what you want, you can't build what you wanted to in the first place."
Schrad said the SCC will do "everything it can to accommodate the applicant's (time frame), but not at the expense of due process for all."
A lot will depend on whether opposition is voiced from the public. "If we don't get any, we might be able to meet the applicant's needs on timing."
That, too, depends on the DEQ. Schrad said he could not speak for how long the department might need to complete its analyses.
Flora's letter states the streamlined process is important because HNWD is "spending considerable resources on the environmental studies and litigation brought by the opposition, Goodall et al v. Highland County, et al. There will be no return on that investment until the first turbine is operational." In addition, he says, the federal production tax credit expires at the end of 2007. "When this permit is granted, despite the possibility of an appeal in the pending litigation," Flora wrote, "the applicant intends to order the turbines. To obtain 2007 turbines … for the projected 10-month construction project for February 2007 delivery, the current market requests that the applicant place the turbine order no later than March 2006."
In addition, the application states the utility is expected to be operational for 20-30 years depending on power prices and the life expectancy of the equipment. "At the end of the operation period, the facility shall be decommissioned," the document states.
McBride, however, said decommissioning was just a clarification of what local supervisors, and he was not prepared to say another utility might replace this one eventually. "Let's get this one going before we talk about rejuvenating it," he said this week.
Now that SCC has the application, staff will first review it for completeness, which could take at least a couple of weeks, Schrad said. If there are sections requiring more information, SCC will contact the company. Once it determines the application is complete, SCC will issue a scheduling order that outlines dates for actions on the applications, including deadlines for commenting.
SCC assigned HNWD a case number - PUE-2005-00101. Information on the application as it proceeds through reviews can be found using the number on the docket search at: scc.virginia.gov.
| 
