Construction Under Way on Wind Projects

Nov 13 - State Journal, The

Groundwork has begun on a 200-turbine, $300 million wind farm planned in Grant County.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit to NedPower/Shell WindEnergy for the site on Grassy Ridge Road near Mount Storm Lake.

The ground must be stabilized with vegetative cover, paving or gravel before the turbines can be constructed, according to the DEP.

"West Virginia is a place where wind power makes sense," said David K. Friend, vice president of marketing and sales for US Wind Force LLC, which is the parent company for the Mount Storm project.

A US Wind Resource map shows the mountain ranges of West Virginia rated from fair to outstanding sites for wind energy generation.

In addition to the 200 turbines in Grant County, hundreds of turbines already are in place, and even more are being planned.

Liberty Gap Wind Force LLC of Wexford, Pa., plans 40 to 50 turbines just south of Franklin in Pendleton County. The turbines will be on top of Jack Mountain. The project is expected to be completed by late 2007. US Wind Force LLC also is involved in that project.

The permit for the Grant County project near Bayard shows 166 windmills. However, current plans call for 60 to 89 turbines. The project will cover 20 contiguous square miles near Mount Storm and 10,000 acres.

The Mountaineer Wind Energy Center project of 44 turbines on Backbone Mountain in Tucker County was completed in 2003.

A project in Greenbrier County, Beech Ridge Energy LLC, is estimated to cost $300 million and include 133 turbines. The turbine farm will be located on 500 acres along Shellcamp Ridge, Smokehouse Ridge, Beech Ridge, Rockcamp Ridge, Big Ridge, Old Field Mountain, Blue Knob, Nunly Mountain and Cold Knob Mountain.

In addition to providing tax revenues to county governments, wind farms also provide a new source of revenue for many landowners. Mineral County resident Russell Nelson has "rented" parcels of his 130 acres to US Wind Force LLC.

"Six turbines will be put every 300 feet, almost like a 'V' pattern," said Nelson. The contract between Nelson and US Wind Force says he will receive $3,000 annually for each turbine for the lease of the land. Once the turbines are constructed, he will receive $5,000 for each of the turbines.

Four more turbines are scheduled to be built on the George Tasker property, adjacent to Nelson's acreage. A total of between 20 and 25 turbines are planned.

However, the Green Mountain (officially called The Pinnacle LLC) project is generating skepticism from Mineral County officials.

Joe Trainor Sr., vice president of operations for US Wind Force LLC, answered questions from the Mineral County Commission earlier this year.

Trainor told the Commission that 50 turbines were being planned that would power 40,000 average-size homes.

However, Mineral County Commissioner Wayne Spiggle is skeptical.

"I think wind power in many ways is good. But the industry depends on a tax cut and does not contribute significantly to our electricity use," Spiggle said.

As a spokesman for developers in the region, Maisano said, "These projects provide an opportunity for real tax dollars to go directly into county budgets. In Garrett County, Md., this is a significant portion of the county budget. The same goes for other counties across West Virginia.

"Developers are building these projects knowing they are providing good paying construction and maintenance jobs, as well as economic development opportunities."