[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15093-15094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6107]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2351-017]


Public Service Company of Colorado;

    Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and 
Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for 
Submission of Final Amendments
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2351-017.
    c. Date Filed: February 27, 2012.
    d. Applicant: Excel Energy Services, Inc. on behalf of Public 
Service Company of Colorado.
    e. Name of Project: Cabin Creek Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the South Clear 
Creek and its tributary Cabin Creek in Clear Creek County, Colorado. 
The project, as currently licensed, is located on 267 acres of U.S. 
Forest Service lands within the Arapahoe National Forest.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 USC 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Christine E. Johnston, Xcel Energy, 4653 
Table Mountain Drive, Golden, CO 80403; (720) 497-2156.
    i. FERC Contact: David Turner, (202) 502-6091.
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The existing project includes the 
following facilities: (1) A 210-foot-high, 1,458-foot-long concrete-
faced rockfill Upper Dam across Cabin Creek; (2) a 25.4 acre upper 
reservoir with 1,087 acre-feet of usable storage between the maximum 
operating elevation of 11,196 feet mean sea level (msl) and the minimum 
operating elevation of 11,140 feet msl; (3) a 95-foot-high, 1,195-foot-
long earthfill and rockfill Lower Dam across South Clear Creek; (4) a 
44.8-acre lower reservoir with 1,221 acre-feet of usable storage 
between the maximum operating elevation of 10,002 feet msl and 9,975 
feet msl; (5) a 145-foot-long auxiliary spillway constructed in the 
embankment of the lower reservoir with a crest elevation of 10,013 
feet; (6) an intake structure located near the bottom of the upper 
reservoir; (7) a 12 to 15-foot-diameter, 4,143-foot-long power tunnel; 
(8) two 75-foot-long, 8.5-foot-diameter penstocks directing flow from 
the power tunnel to the powerhouse turbines; (9) a powerhouse installed 
at the lower reservoir containing two reversible turbine-generator 
units rated at 150 megawatts (nameplate capacity) each; (10) a 
switchyard located next to the powerhouse; (11) three miles of gravel 
access roads; and (12) appurtenant facilities.
    Cabin Creek is a pumped storage project. The normal daily operation 
cycle involves pumping water from the lower reservoir to the upper 
reservoir during off-peak periods of energy demand and generating 
electricity with water released from the upper reservoir during the 
high energy demand part of the day. Under the current license, the 
applicant is required to provide a continuous release from the lower 
reservoir of three cubic feet per second or inflow, whichever is less, 
to South Clear Creek.
    The applicant proposes the following changes to the project: (1) 
Upgrade the pump-generation equipment; (2) raise the usable storage 
capacity of the upper reservoir 75 acre-feet by raising the height of 
the dam 4.5 feet; and (3) increase the project boundary by 59 acres.
    l. Locations of the Application: A copy of the application is 
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or 
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using 
the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support at

[[Page 15094]]

[email protected] or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
(202) 502-8659. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item (h) above.
    m. You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    n. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

 
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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for     April 27, 2012.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary       June 26, 2012.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Non-Draft EA.............  October 24, 2012.
Comments on EA.............................  November 23, 2012.
Modified terms and conditions..............  January 22, 2012.
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    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: March 7, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-6107 Filed 3-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P