Way Cleared For West Virginia Wind Farm

Vivi Gorman
Posted on Friday 5th June 2009

On June 3, the West Virginia Supreme Court refused to take up a dispute over the construction of a wind farm, allowing state approval of the $250 million project to stand. The electric-generating facility and associated interconnection facilities will be built along a ridge in north-central West Virginia in Barbour and Randolph Counties.

The wind farm is expected to generate enough energy to power over 33,000 homes.

The Laurel Mountain Preservation Association appealed the West Virginia Public Service Commission’s approval in November of AES Laurel Mountain LLC’s request for a certificate to build the wind farm. The Association appealed to the state high court on the grounds that the wind farm isn’t necessary and would not benefit West Virginians. The court denied the petition and most recently denied a motion for rehearing by the Association.

The group asserted that the Commission failed to account for negative economic impacts and noise impact of the project and the visual impacts on historic and cultural sites. The group also said the impact on water tables and bats was not sufficiently considered.

Top Coal Producer

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, West Virginia is the second top coal-producer in the country, with Wyoming as the first. Nearly all of the electricity generated in West Virginia is from coal-fired power plants. Because West Virginia produces a surplus of electricity, it leads the nation in net interstate electricity exports. West Virginia has other operating wind farms and several others in the development or construction stage.

Concerns over noise levels and visual impact are common points raised in opposition to wind farms. Noise from turbines has been suspected of contributing to health problems in nearby livestock and local residents often worry that tourism will suffer. Safety is also an issue. In October, a turbine at a Vermont wind farm failed when one of the blades came into contact with the turbine’s tower during high winds.

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