The US Bureau of Land Management has determined that a proposed 3,000MW wind project in Wyoming will have no significant environmental impact.
The preliminary finding by the agency examined potential impacts from development plans for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project site in Carbon County, in southern Wyoming. The project, which will cost an estimated $5bn, will consist of 1,000 turbines.
The BLM will hold public hearings on the environmental assessment on 25 and 26 August, and accept public comments until 10 September.
The project, proposed by the Power Co. of Wyoming, has not yet secured power purchase agreements with utilities.
The assessment, released on 11 August, comes just days after state regulators approved the project, which would be the largest wind farm in the US.
The BLM review is one of the last hurdles before the project can begin development. BLM will also release a second environmental assessment later this year that looks more closely at the site plans for the first 500 turbines to be built.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a 30-year eagle-take permit for the first phase. A draft environmental impact statement from the agency is expected later this year, with a final decision in 2015. It would be one of the first 30-year permits the agency has issued after extending the maximum amount of time for the permits from five years. The permit allows for so-called takes, a broad array of activities that include killing or otherwise harming wildlife. Permitting is designed to allow for takes that are "compatible with the preservation of the bald eagle or golden eagle."
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