December 20, 2006
Pennsylvania

Company plans to buy wind energy from county

An Ohio-based energy company has agreed to purchase wind energy for the next 23 years from a southern Somerset County wind development.

FirstEnergy Solutions announced Monday that the company plans to purchase 34.5 megawatts from the Casselman Wind Power Project. The facility, constructed by PPM Energy, of Oregon, is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by the end of 2007, according to PPM Energy press release.

The Casselman wind project is located on 2,000 acres of post strip mine land in parts of Summit and Black townships. the project’s plan includes the erection of 23 wind turbines that will generate 1.5 megawatts each and have a footprint that will consume a small amount of the total acreage.

“The wind facility will impact about 2 percent of the land,” said Anita Marks, spokesperson for PPM Energy.

Marks was unable to comment if the development will lead to multiple phases.

The county planning commission has been approved applications for the facility since the middle of November and until this past week, Planning Commission Land Development Planner Bill Lehman said.

The planning commission has approved 16 wind turbines in Black and Summit townships.

The towers plans will be erected on the properties of: Douglas and Roxanne Sanner, one turbine; David E. Sanner, one turbine; and Timothy A. and Diana L. Sanner, two turbines. In Summit Township: Larry R. and Kathryn K. Sanner and Terry M. and Judith Sanner Pletcher, two turbines; Edmund Sanner, seven turbines; and P. Timothy and Shirley B. Vought, three turbines.

The turbines will be located along state Route 2016, said Lehman.

When presented with the opportunity to purchase renewable energy, FirstEnergy decided to sign on, said Mark Durbin, FirstEnergy Corp. senior public relations representative.

“We are always looking for renewable energy opportunities.”

FirstEnergy is the nation’s fifth largest investor-owned electric system and serves 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersery.

In addition to the Casselman project, FirstEnergy has also purchased wind power from the Meyersdale facility, he said.

Durbin said FirstEnergy has a total of 464 megawatts under contract.

PPM Energy is an independent energy company and is the second largest developer of wind energy in the United States.

The company has 18 wind facilities located in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Wyoming, California and Oregon.

By Jennifer Garlesky
Daily American Staff Writer
jenniferg@dailyamerican.com


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/12/20/company-plans-to-buy-wind-energy-from-county/