October 17, 2006
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Another wind farm ““ this one in northern Schuylkill County ““ is going up.
Construction began this summer on the 13-turbine Locust Ridge Wind Farm in Mahanoy Township, said Eric Blank, vice president in charge of development for Community Energy Inc.
Community Energy, based in Wayne, is a subsidiary of IBERDROLA, an international energy developer, Blank said.
He said the Locust Ridge Wind Farm should be operating by the end of the year, its maximum electricity output of 26 megawatts will be enough to power 5,000 to 7,000 average-sized homes.
The towers on which the rotors will be mounted stand 78 meters tall or about 255 feet.
The three-bladed rotors are 285 feet in diameter, Blank said.
On Monday, several cranes worked near the towers that rise on high ground just west of Interstate 81 and northwest of the Mahanoy City exit of Interstate 81.
One rotor assembly was in place, with the other towers sitting in a line across the forested ridge.
Blank said the pre-construction work at the site included “a whole suite of studies” conducted to determine what impact the wind farm might have on migratory birds, bats and endangered species.
“All kinds of stuff” was studied, he said.
He said the power will be sold to PPL EnergyPlus.
Community Energy also built the 24-megawatt Bear Creek wind farm just south of Wilkes-Barre.
That wind farm’s turbines and towers can be seen from the city and came on line last December, according to Community Energy’s Web site.
Community Energy has also installed a wind farm near the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County.
It has also installed wind-power operations in Illinois, West Virginia, New York, in Wayne County, New Hampshire and New Jersey and proposes to build a wind farm in Worcester County, Masss.
Another wind-power developer, DGP Power LLC, is seeking to lease land in Northumberland County near Schuylkill County on which to place a wind farm.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/10/17/new-wind-farm-under-construction-near-sheppton/