Wind Power News: West Virginia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Tucker County Commissioners vote to support Senate Bill 16
PARSONS – Chris Michael, Tucker County Assessor spoke to Tucker County Commissioners Wednesday and asked for their support on the passage of Senate Bill 16. Michael said currently, windmills are taxed at 5 percent of their market value. “We have a $50 million project up there and if they were treated like a normal business, they would pay taxes on $30 million,” Michael said. “That would bring in roughly $400,000 a year to be split by the county and schools. . . . Complete story »
PSC considers Appalachian Power’s wind energy plan
Appalachian Power is close to obtaining additional wind energy generation for the next 20 years, but customers will be responsible for its costs if the wind energy market goes south, according to recent testimony before the state Public Service Commission. The PSC is mulling over whether or not to approve Appalachian Power’s purchase of 120 megawatts of wind power, which the company announced in June 2016. The source would be energy company NextEra’s planned Bluff Point Wind Energy Center in . . . Complete story »
Wind turbines aren’t good for us
Here are the scientifically proven facts behind Richard and Edie Elvee’s letter (“We already know the answer,” June 23 Times-News). I’m in contact with physicians in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia who have written about the health effects of living within a mile and a half of a wind turbine. I have received stories and have interviewed wind turbine victims. My reading of peer reviewed information reveals the following: The World Health Organization found that residents living within 6,500 . . . Complete story »
Barbour wind power facility sentenced to $30,000 fine for bird deaths
The owner of a Barbour County wind energy facility has been sentenced to pay $30,000 in fines after pleading guilty to two federal charges related to the deaths in 2011 of hundreds of migratory birds, court records show. AES Laurel Mountain LLC was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Aloi after reaching a plea agreement with U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld. The company was sentenced to pay the maximum fine of $15,000 for each of two misdemeanor . . . Complete story »
Wind power generation plant pleads in deaths of hundreds of birds
CLARKSBURG – Wind power generation plant AES Laurel Mountain LLC has pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanors in the deaths of hundreds of migratory birds five years ago at its Barbour County facility. A total of 314 migratory birds, the majority Blackpoll Warblers, died Oct. 2, 2011, at the “undeveloped, wooded and mountainous” site, U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II has alleged. And a day later, 81 more migratory birds died at the complex, Ihlenfeld alleged. Giant wind turbines, which look . . . Complete story »
Appalachian Power seeks proposals for up to 150-MW of wind power
Appalachian Power has issued pre-qualification documents for parties interested in bidding on an up-coming Request for Proposal (RFP) for up to 150 MW of wind power. The utility provider currently has one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., and delivers electricity to nearly 5.4 million customers through 223,000 miles of distribution lines in 11 states. The RFP will . . . Complete story »
A state-by-state look at renewable energy requirements
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have requirements that utilities get a certain amount of their electricity from renewable sources. Nine additional states have goals for renewable energy, while a dozen others have no targets. A state-by-state look at renewable energy policies. ALABAMA No renewable energy standard. ALASKA A bill passed in 2010 sets a goal, but not a requirement, for Alaska to receive half its electricity from renewable and alternative energy sources by 2025. ARIZONA Public utilities must . . . Complete story »
Canadian company buys West Virginia wind project for $200 million
A Fortune 500 Canadian energy company recently bought a long-delayed Grant County wind farm, paying $200 million for the project, which they hope will be up and running in a year. Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline and energy company, announced Wednesday that it bought the New Creek Wind Project and plans to have the 49-turbine farm in operation in December 2016. Once operational, it would be West Virginia’s sixth wind farm, according to the state Department of Commerce. Five of . . . Complete story »
US Wind Force distributing $20,000 in grants
KEYSER, W.Va. – US Wind Force Foundation, Inc. is accepting grant applications from qualified nonprofit organizations for $20,000 in grants from its Community Benefit Fund. Applications must be postmarked no later than Oct. 15. “This is a continuation of a long-term relationship between the foundation and the communities surrounding the wind farm,” said Jim Cookman, president of the foundation. “We appreciate the community’s broad support for the project and NRG’s continued support for the community.” The Community Benefit Fund was established . . . Complete story »
Appalachian Power turns toward sun and wind for future energy
Appalachian Power Co. expects to develop the means to generate more than a fifth of its energy from the sun and wind in 15 years, according to a plan filed with the state this week. At the same time, it anticipates reducing its reliance on electricity from coal-fired power plants from 72 percent of the total to just more than half, the company said in the Integrated Resource Plan turned in to the State Corporation Commission. Appalachian Power and other . . . Complete story »
