Wind farms planned for county 

Two more wind turbine developments will be built in Somerset County this fall.

Edison Mission Group of Irvine, Calf., is in the process of erecting two wind developments: one in Shade Township and one in Brothersvalley and Northampton townships, Charley Parnell, Edison Mission spokesman said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.

“The turbines plan to be erected hopefully sometime between September and November,” he said.

Eighteen turbines will be included on the Lookout WindPower site, which lies east of state Route 160 in Brothersvalley and Northampton townships. Workers have been clearing trees and brush at the site for several weeks, Parnell said.

The wind farm will be stocked with larger 2.1-megawatt turbines, giving it the ability to produce 37.8 megawatts of electricity.

“The height of each turbine will be approximately 400 feet from the ground to the tip of the blade,” Parnell said.

He said the turbines are similar in size to those already in the county.

Six turbines will be placed on two properties in Northampton Township: three turbines on the Glenn C. and Mary Gross property and three turbines on the Maximilian A. Merrill property.

The other 12 turbines will be erected in Brothersvalley Township: one on the property of Dennis G. and John Edward Hay; three on the property of Glenn C. and Mary Gross; three on the property of Louis W. Berkley; three on the property of Richard and Ann Hynicka; and two on the property of Reed J. Miller.

Edison is negotiating to find an energy distributor for the site, Parnell said.

The Forward WindPower site is the group’s second wind development in Somerset County. It is located in Shade Township.

The development will feature 14 wind turbines that will produce 27 megawatts.

Construction is further along than the Lookout site, Parnell said. Workers are in the process of pouring the turbines’ concrete bases, he said.

The towers will be located along Ridge Road in Shade Township. Five turbines will be erected on the property of Allen F. and Ruth E. Browning; four turbines on the property of Glenn R. and Betty Jane Wagner; two turbines on the property of David J. and Donamae Zwick; and three turbines on Berwind Corp. property.

Energy produced from this facility will be purchased by Constellation Energy, a Maryland-based company. Constellation provides electricity and natural gas to customers and businesses in central Maryland, according to its Web site.

Edison Mission Group’s involvement in the Somerset County wind projects started when the group formed an agreement with Generation Resources Holding Co. LLC of Leawood, Kan.

Generation Resources discovered the Somerset locations and Edison Mission will finance and operate the wind farms, Parnell explained. Edison will provide the turbines for each development, he added.

Generation Resources is the company behind plans to install a wind farm in Stonycreek Township. It scaled back the project after local officials denied a variance that would have allowed the company to build eight turbines near the Somerset County Airport.

Edison Mission already manages an energy facility in Pennsylvania. The group oversees the operation of the Homer City Generation Plant in Indiana County. The coal-fired power plant supplies energy to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, according to the plant’s Web site.

By Jennifer Garlesky
Staff Writer

Daily American

20 July 2007