We promote an environment where people and projects succeed.

Power

electric power transmission & generation: environmental consulting services

Our professional, experienced staff provide environmental services to secure all levels of permits & approvals for electric power projects.

Merjent staff have decades of specialized experience working on numerous renewable and traditional energy generation projects and hundreds of miles of transmission projects throughout the United States.

Our team’s energy project experience includes commercial scale wind energy facilities (i.e., wind farms), solar, and hydropower projects, as well as experience with traditional generation facilities, such as natural gas, nuclear, and coal.

environmental services for power transmission and generation projects

We understand the complexities of project economics and scheduling, and we fully appreciate the demands construction compliance obligations can place on both.

Our staff are prepared to provide comprehensive support for high-voltage transmission line systems as well as commercial wind and solar renewable energy projects, including project planning, public outreach and agency engagement, agency consultation, cultural resources and environmental (biological and wetlands/waterbodies) reviews and field surveys along powerline corridors and facility sites, environmental permitting/approvals, and environmental construction inspection services.

Merjent offers a wide range of environmental services to support our electric power transmission and generation clients:
  • pre-feasibility and feasibility studies
  • preliminary environmental due diligence review
  • suitability modeling
  • constraints analyses
  • pre-permitting strategy development and scheduling for critical path efforts
  • comprehensive project permit matrix
  • siting alternatives analyses for power generation facilities
  • routing alternatives analyses for linear electric transmission
  • geographic information system (GIS) mapping
  • GIS-based land use analysis
  • strategizing options for public outreach efforts
  • creating mailing lists and management of lists (e.g., landowner, agencies, municipalities)
  • coordinating with agency and municipal representatives
  • preparing project introduction and request for comment letters
  • supporting public and agency meetings
  • comment tracking, analyses, and summaries
  • updating project information for use with outreach efforts
  • environmental due diligence (desktop and field review)
  • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review
  • federal environmental assessment (EA) and environmental impact statement (EIS) preparation
  • equivalent state-level environmental review document preparation
  • phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) preparation
  • coordinating aviation, lighting, noise, shadow flicker, and electromagnetic field assessments
  • conducting visual impact photo simulations
  • performing biological services for threatened and endangered (T&E) species and wetlands/waterbodies:
    • agency consultations
    • project-specific species habitat assessments and field surveys (federal and state)
    • wetland and waterbody assessments and delineations
    • biological and wetland mitigation and monitoring plans
  • cultural resources services:
    • agency coordination
    • GIS-based predictive modeling
    • State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) reviews
    • federal Section 106 compliance
    • historic architectural inventory
    • cultural resources review
    • avoidance, mitigation, and unanticipated discovery plans
  • federal:
    • federal resource agency consultations and approvals (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service)
    • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    • USDA Forest Service
    • USDA Rural Utility Service
    • U.S. Department of State
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • U.S. Department of Interior – Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Indian Affairs (BIA)
    • National Park Service
    • Federal Aviation Administration
    • third-party permitting and approval analyses (e.g., EIS, EA, and Presidential Permit)
  • state and local:
    • certificates of need, certificates of public convenience and necessity, and related purpose and need documents
    • state high-voltage transmission line route permit applications
    • state large energy generation project site permits
    • agricultural impact mitigation agreements, best management practices, pre-construction surveys, and post-construction monitoring
    • natural resource permits, approvals, and consultations (wetland and waterbody crossing permits, natural heritage consultations, special use authorizations, construction stormwater discharge permits, stormwater pollution prevention plans [SWPPP], water quality certification, and wetland practical alternative analyses)
  • project-specific environmental mitigation plans to address construction activities and implementation of permits and approvals
  • permit book preparation (e.g., contacts, permits and their conditions, relevant construction and environmental management plans)
  • permit training for inspectors and contractors
  • applicant and third-party environmental inspection and documentation (i.e., agency compliance monitoring) including daily, weekly, and closeout reports
  • construction stormwater permitting, SWPPP development, and associated compliance inspections
  • spill prevention, containment, control and countermeasure plans
  • facility response plans
  • tablet-based data reporting and management system technology solutions
  • health and safety support (development and management of project-specific plans and field survey programs)
  • restoration “punch-lists” of areas requiring additional work (e.g., erosion controls, rutting repairs)
  • post-construction monitoring
  • review and analyze/interpret applicable project documents
  • draft direct and rebuttal testimony
  • analyze and draft responses to data requests
  • prepare for and testify at hearing

Merjent’s engineering services provide our clients with expertise that can be used on their projects, either as a primary resource or integrated into our already experienced teams in the environmental consulting field.

Electric Transmission
planning/permitting
  • Nemadji 115kV Project
  • Bear Creek Distribution Project
  • 39 Line Relocation Project
  • Bayfield Loop Transmission Upgrade Project
  • Kohlman Lake to Goose Lake Transmission Project
  • St. Cloud Loop 115kV Project
  • Medford to Prentice Transmission Line Rebuild Project

 

third-party environmental monitoring
  • Badger-Coulee Transmission Line Project

 

Wind
  • Blazing Star 1 Wind Farm
  • Blazing Star 2 Wind Farm
  • Crocker Wind Farm
  • Freeborn Wind Farm
  • Plum Creek Wind Farm
  • Bison 2 Wind Farm
  • Bison 3 Wind Farm
  • Bison 4 Wind Farm
  • Glen Ullin Energy Center
  • Tatanka Ridge Wind Farm
  • Coyote Ridge Wind Farm
  • Lake Benton 1 Wind Repower
  • Trimont Wind Repower
  • Tupper Lake Wind Farm
Solar
  • Two Creeks Solar Project
  • Harmony Solar Project
  • Regal Solar Project
  • Elk Creek Solar Project
  • Wild Springs Solar Project
  • Aurora Solar Project
  •  

Contacts

Dan Flo
Power Sector Lead
dan.flo@merjent.com

Support Services

Merjent provides a full suite of environmental consulting services

AIR QUALITY
Pipeline construction right of way through mountains.
CONSTRUCTION COMPLIANCE
CULTURAL RESOURCES
DUE DILIGENCE
High voltage electric transmission power lines at sunset.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
GIS
Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) used to restore prairie habitat on pipeline right of way.
INTEGRATED VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
LCFS & RFS2
LOW CARBON ENERGY TRANSITION
MONARCH CCAA
RESTORATION SERVICES
SAFETY SERVICES
SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES COMPLIANCE
Person typing on a keyboard of a laptop.
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Water drop on lake.
WATER QUALITY
WETLAND AND WATERBODY SURVEYS