Wind Power News: Pennsylvania
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Blue Knob firefighters respond to wind mill fire
At 07:01 Blair County 911 alerted the Blue Knob VFD for a Wind Mill fire at the Allegheny Wind Farm in Juniata Township. Engine/Tanker 86-21, Tanker 86-22, Brush 86-71, Squad 86-41, and Special Unit 86-42 all responded on the call under the direction of Assistant Chief 86-04 (Walters). The burning unit could be see by responders as they left the fire station. Crews had to gain access via a dirt lane which was over 4 miles off of Route 164. . . .
Fire destroys windmill turbine
BLUE KNOB — Fire destroyed a windmill turbine at the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm on top of the mountain in Blair County between Blue Knob and Lilly on Monday morning. Lilly fire Chief Robert Crum said it’s impossible to fight a fire at a turbine 250 feet above the ground, so firefighters from Blue Knob set up a perimeter for safety reasons and extinguished brush fires that started when hot embers fell to the ground. The fire was reported around 7 a.m., . . .
A solar farm’s slow going
When Bob Keares proposed building Pennsylvania’s largest solar farm in the heart of Chester County, he expected a warm reception, certainly from environmentalists. With 35,000 panels arrayed on a steep slope in Caln Township, the farm would generate 10 megawatts of energy, pollution-free. It could power 2,000 homes, he asserted, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 200,000 tons over 40 years – equivalent to planting eight million trees. Keares’ green dream did not end there. He envisioned the farm attracting . . .
Faced with notice of ESA violations, FWS agrees to reconsider Shaffer Mountain biological opinion
The federally endangered Indiana bat won a significant reprieve recently when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it would reinitiate consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Gamesa’s proposed Shaffer Mountain Wind Project in Bedford and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania. As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers will hold its final decision in abeyance pending the conclusion of that consultation, which will determine whether, and with what conditions, the proposed 30-turbine industrial wind project can . . .
Get your wind here, group urges
Wind farm operators, wind energy suppliers and environmental groups hope to raise demand for electricity generated by wind turbines in Pennsylvania through a new website and publicity campaign. EverPower Wind Holdings Inc., with an office in Lawrenceville, partnered with other companies and organizations on Thursday to introduce the initiative — ChoosePAWind — with the Internet address www.choosepawind.com, at a Duquesne University event. Pennsylvania consumers who pay a premium on top of their electricity bills for wind credits often don’t realize . . .
Dead bat impacts turbine proposal
WINDBER — Federal regulators are taking another look at the Shaffer Mountain Wind Project, a 30-turbine wind farm proposed by Gamesa for ridges along the Somerset and Bedford county lines. The re-evaluation comes on the heels of the September discovery of a dead endangered bat beneath an operating wind turbine near Lilly. There is no direct link that the dead Indiana bat may have been part of the Shaffer Mountain maternity colony and died while on a flight for food. . . .
Wind farm builder gets $12.7M grant
SOMERSET — A windmill farm planned for southern Somerset County received a financial boost Thursday with the announcement of a $12.7 million grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. The Twin Ridges Wind Farm is an EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. project planned for Northampton, Southampton, Larimer and Greenville townships. The 68-turbine farm has a $239 million price tag. “It (the grant) really is a significant factor in our decision to build in Pennsylvania,” said Jim Spencer, EverPower . . .
Faced with notice of ESA violations, FWS agrees to reconsider biological opinion for Shaffer Mountain Wind Project
On November 3, 2011, we submitted a detailed notice letter on behalf of several conservation groups pointing out the serious scientific and legal errors with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2011 Biological Opinion to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would have allowed construction and operation of an industrial wind farm in the midst of a critical maternity colony of endangered Indiana bats. In issuing its opinion, the Service ignored the views of the nation’s leading bat biologists who . . .
EverPower and Converteam get state grants for energy projects
The Twin Ridges Wind Farm project in Somerset County, which is being developed by part-New York, part-Pittsburgh-based EverPower Wind Holdings Inc., got a serious boost with a $12.7 million grant from the state. This is a 139-megawatt wind farm that is expected to generate a fifth of Pennsylvania’s wind power when operational by the end of next year. The total cost of the project is $238.8 million. This was part of the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s energy funding program. Closer to . . .
Mehoopany wind park gets green light
WASHINGTON TWP. – The proposed 88-turbine Mehoopany Wind Park LLC of BP Alternative Energy got a green light Monday night that will one day facilitate getting harnessed wind power to an electrical power grid. The approval process came in two steps. First, Washington Twp. supervisors had to consider a conditional use of the installation of transmission lines in an area already zoned for industry. Second, the Washington Twp. Zoning Hearing Board had to consider whether granting a dimensional variance was . . .
