[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 105 (Monday, June 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33150-33151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11688]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 15029-000]


SV Hydro, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted 
for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing 
Applications

    On April 23, 2020, SV Hydro, LLC, filed an application for a 
preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act, 
proposing to study the feasibility of the Itasca County Pumped Storage 
Project (Itasca County Project or project) to be located near the City 
of Marble, Itasca County, Minnesota. The sole purpose of a preliminary 
permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a 
license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does 
not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing 
activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others 
without the owners' express permission.
    The proposed project is a closed loop pumped storage project and 
would consist of the following: (1) A 50-foot-high, 120-acre-area 
circular upper reservoir constructed as a rockfill embankment with a 
total storage capacity of approximately 4,500 acre-feet at a maximum 
operating elevation of 1,455 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) an 18-foot-
diameter upper intake; (3) a 2,800-foot-long, 16-foot-diameter vertical 
penstock excavated in granitic bedrock and lined with steel extending 
between the upper intake and the pump/turbines below; (4) a 5,400-foot 
to 4,200-foot-circular underground lower reservoir excavated in 
granitic bedrock, located 2,500 feet below the ground surface elevation 
of 1,410 msl with a usable storage capacity approximately the same as 
the upper reservoir and operational water elevations between minus 
1,012.5 feet msl and minus 1,055 feet msl; (5) a 200-foot-long, 70-
foot-wide, 130-foot-high powerhouse located 250 feet below the lower 
reservoir containing two vertical Francis reversible pump/turbine-
motor/generator units rated for 333 megawatts each; (6) a 240-foot-
long, 50-foot-wide, 40-foot-high underground transformer gallery; (7) a 
200-foot-square above ground substation; (8) a 200 to 500-foot-long, 
230 kilovolts (kV) transmission line extending from the substation to 
an existing 230 kV transmission line owned by others; and (9) 
appurtenant facilities. There would be no federal land within the 
proposed project boundary. The estimated annual generation of the 
Itasca County Project would be 1,500 gigawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Douglas Spaulding, P.E., Nelson Energy, 8441 
Wayzata Blvd., Suite 101 Golden Valley, MN 55426; phone: (952) 544-
8133.
    FERC Contact: Sergiu Serban; phone: (202) 502-6211.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system

[[Page 33151]]

at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY).
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of the 
Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-15029) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: May 26, 2020.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-11688 Filed 5-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P