Numbers questioned in wind farm project
Opponents of a Mineral County wind farm project maintain it will have little impact on the power grid and the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Testimony began Monday in a West Virginia Public Service Commission evidentiary hearing on the Pinnacle Wind Force project. Plans are to build 23 wind turbines on top of Green Mountain near Mount Storm.
Attorney Bradley Stephens, representing the opponents, questioned US Wind Force Vice President David Friend during Monday’s proceedings. Stephens asked Friend to support the company’s claims that the turbines would generate 55 megawatts a year and could power 14,000 households.
“Did Pinnacle collect raw wind data on the project site in years leading up to 2009?” Stephens asked. “Certainly,” Friend said. He said data had been collected for six years. Stephens said the information was never provided to the public in the meetings leading up to this week’s hearing. Friend said the public wouldn’t have the ability to understand the information.
Friend said the company did explain how it arrived at its 14,000 households figure during 75 to 100 presentations in and around Mineral County.
Friend also testified Monday the wind farm would offset greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants by 129-thousand tons, but he didn’t have the information on how he reached that number with him.
The state PSC will have the final say whether or not the turbines will be constructed. The commission has approved similar wind farm projects in recent years.
Testimony is expected to continue through the rest of the week.
Staff
Charleston
Metro News
26 October 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
