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PSC decision a mistake 

Credit:  theintermountain.com 20 December 2008 ~~

The recent OK of the West Virginia PSC was and is a big mistake on the wind turbine project on the Laurel Mountain ridgeline.

With all that is on the plate of the PSC, when do they have time to study each project that is before them? Why was it so easy to put the Pendleton County project on hold, but give the green light to this one?

A few facts: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 52 percent of the electricity is generated by coal, 22 percent by nuclear fission and 13.5 percent natural gas. Wind Power? That’s 0.4 percent.

Wind is not consistent. It cannot stay to a level to keep the electricity going. So what will our friends on the East Coast be doing to make up for the lack of wind power to keep their electricity going? They will have to fall back on the power companies to make up for the lack of electricity to avoid black-outs. This means more power lines will be built to the East Coast to make up for the lack of wind to keep air conditioners on in the summer and heating systems on in the winter.

Does anybody remember the power lines that are coming from southwest Pennsylvania to the East Coast and the power lines coming from the southern part of the state? The ones that might be coming through Tucker and Upshur counties? Is there a connection there? With the transmission lines being built, this will mean more coal will be burned to keep the power going. Does this sound like cutting back on CO2 to you? And to top it off, we will be cutting down forests for the wind turbines and the transmission lines.

Correct me if I am wrong, but don’t these same forests help to generate oxygen? So when do you expect the animals to come back and start grazing again under those beautiful windmills? They won’t. Noise factor. Isn’t hunting and fishing, along with tourism, the industries that bring the people to the area throughout the year?

The Sierra Club has been awfully quiet here. If this was such a good idea, why is T. Boone Pickens pulling out? It isn’t going the way we hoped, I’ll bet. Cost maybe? The company looking to build here, AES, not too long ago settled a suit brought on by the Dominican Republic that they had been dumping on their beaches. The catch was that AES would not admit to guilt.

Do you want to deal with a company like this? Does this sound like a green company to you? Will they keep their word on any agreement made with area governments? And the $450,000 promise each year, is that per county?

We sometimes find ourselves so desperate that we are like dogs at the foot of the table begging for scraps and we will take whatever is thrown to us. Is this worth tearing up our mountains? Something that barely works? Barely may be pushing it. Instead, let’s tear up a ridgeline to develop something that won’t even keep the lights on a consistent basis to the homes at the foot of Laurel Mountain.

Call me selfish, but I prefer these mountains that surround this area to remain untouched. There is no other place like this in the state or country. We have a special place here. I wish others would see this.

Clark Martin

Elkins

Source:  theintermountain.com 20 December 2008

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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