Wind Power News: West Virginia
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.
Mineral wind farm operators discuss community fund
KEYSER, W.Va. — As the Pinnacle wind farm project continues with the state Public Service Commission process, so do plans for the Community Benefits Fund, a $50,000 annual contribution from US Wind Force to the community for the lifetime of the project.
“I?think we’re getting to the point where we need to work out who would be on the board,”;Jim Cookman, vice president of project development at US Wind Force, said at the meeting of the Community Advisory Panel on Monday.
The . . .
County has face-to-face with U.S. Wind Force reps
KEYSER — Finally face-to-face, the Mineral County Commissioners questioned representatives of U.S. Wind Force Tuesday evening, sticking to the topics that would directly affect the county and its residents.
At the top of the question list was the subject of taxes, and how much the company expects to pay into the county once the 23 wind turbines are in place on Green Mountain.
Distributing an estimated tax table to the commissioners, David Friend, vice president of sales and marketing for US . . .
Mineral Commission meets with US Wind Force officials
KEYSER — The Mineral County Commissioners got their first chance to sit down one-on-one with representatives of US Wind Force to discuss issues of concern and clarify rumors.
The meeting included wind power companies trying to request exemption from the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) as a public utility.
“It is true that companies like Pinnacle Windforce are not public utilities in terms of what the Public Service Commission regulations define,” said Chris Callas of Jackson Kelly Attorneys at Law. “A . . .
Wind energy challenged on harm to bat population
In what is thought to be the first suit challenging a green energy project on environmental grounds, a West Virginia wind turbine project is being challenged in Federal Court because it is likely to devastate the area’s bat population. “It’s a tricky one,” the plaintiff’s environmental lawyer acknowledged.
The wind power project in Greenbrier County in West Virginian could kill more than 130,000 Indiana bats over the coure of 20 years, say the Animal Welfare Institute . . .
MCDA lends support to wind turbines
KEYSER — By a majority vote of board members, the Mineral County Development Authority will support the US WindForce Pinnacle project of 23 turbines and issue a letter to the West Virginia Public Service Commission confirming the approval.
In addition, a policy statement was unanimously passed during the regular Tuesday morning meeting of the development agency dealing with continued support of the growth of green industries within the county. Those industries would include wind, geothermal, solar, hydroelectric, and other energy-generating alternatives.
Four . . .
Giant wind project will kill bats, groups say
A wind power project in West Virginian could kill more than 130,000 Indiana bats in 20 years, animal rights and conservation groups say. They claim Beech Ridge Energy and Invenergy Wind’s plan to erect 124 400-foot-tall wind turbines on 23 miles of forested Appalachian mountain ridgelines could devastate the bat population and harm the environment.
The Animal Welfare Institute, and Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, a West Virginia conservation group, challenged the project planned for in . . .
Wind farm foes file federal lawsuit
Citing potential harm to an endangered species of bat, opponents of a proposed wind farm in Greenbrier County filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this week.
Joining Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and David G. Cowan in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, is the Animal Welfare Institute of Washington. According to a news release issued by the plaintiffs, this is believed to be the first federal lawsuit challenging an industrial wind energy project on environmental grounds.
The . . .
Suit: Windmills threaten endangered bat
Animal rights and environmental advocates have sued a Rockville-based wind energy company, claiming its plan to build towering turbines along a West Virginia mountain ridge threatens an endangered species of bat.
The Animal Welfare Institute and Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy allege that Invenergy Wind LLC lacks a permit for its ongoing Beech Ridge venture, which calls for 124 390-ft. turbines, and that it will further destroy the habitat and decrease the numbers of the Indiana bat.
The tiny Myotis sodalis has . . .
Federal lawsuit filed over industrial wind project that jeopardizes endangered bats
Washington, D.C. – Charging that a massive wind energy project threatens endangered bats, the Animal Welfare Institute, a national animal protection organization, along with the West Virginia-based Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and other conservationists, have filed what is believed to be the first federal lawsuit challenging an industrial wind energy project on environmental grounds. The lawsuit, brought under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, contends that a massive wind power facility . . .
Commissioner: No use for 'sales pitch'
KEYSER — Saying he is not interested in a repeat of a “sales pitch,” Mineral County President Wayne Spiggle is spelling out four specific issues which he wants representatives of U.S. Wind Force to answer when they meet with the commissioners on June 23.
“I have drafted a letter suggesting how they might structure their presentation,” he said Tuesday during the regular county commission meeting, noting that the project itself has been outlined numerous times during various meetings and in the . . .
