TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A decision by the federal government on what would be one of the largest wind-power projects in the nation could come early next year.

Magic Valley Energy, a unit of New York-based LS Power, has proposed the Lava Ridge project about 25 miles northeast of Twin Falls. It would have as many as 400 wind turbines, each up to 740 feet tall, and ancillary facilities on about 84,000 acres of federal, state and private land.

The Shoshone field office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Twin Falls District received more than 11,000 comments on the project.

Most outlined concerns about potential impacts on the Minidoka National Historic Site — a former World War II internment camp — potential impacts to wells and the aquifer, and efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of the project, said Heather Tiel-Nelson, district public affairs specialist.

BLM is “using those substantive comments to help us further refine the analysis,” she said.

The agency in September is expected to provide more information summarizing the comments it received, Tiel-Nelson said. A final environmental impact statement and record of decision is expected in February.

BLM in its mid-January draft environmental impact statement preferred smaller-scale alternatives.

The project has generated strong opposition. Magic Valley Energy officials have said Lava Ridge would provide needed clean energy for the West and that they have been working with stakeholders since the outset to address their concerns.

BLM in August 2021 segregated nearly 106,556 acres of public lands in the larger Lava Ridge project area, and on Aug. 18 announced a two-year extension. Under the segregation, mining claims cannot be filed and the lands cannot be sold, Tiel-Nelson said.