‘Wind farm' seeks PSC permit to build in Grant, Tucker

Charleston Gazette December 20, 2001

By Paul J. Nyden

Mount Storm Wind Force wants to build a new "wind farm" with 166 wind turbines to generate electric power. If the Public Service Commission approves the application, which was filed Monday, the facility would become the largest wind farm in the state.

The new power plant would be built on 10,000 acres of land located between the Potomac River, Mount Storm Lake and the town of Mount Storm in Tucker and Grant counties. The new wind plant would generate 250 megawatts of electricity annually, making it larger than the state's first wind farm located on Backbone Mountain near Blackwater Falls State Park. That plant, approved in November 2000, will generate up to 90 megawatts a year when it is built.

The Backbone Mountain plant generated controversy because some its proposed wind turbines were easily seen from the nearby state park. After discussions with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp. agreed to eliminate some of the most visible towers on its farm along a seven-mile ridge.

Judy Rodd, [Highlands Conservancy Senior Vice-President] who heads Friends of Blackwater, said Tuesday, "I hope they [Mount Storm Wind Force] have done two years' worth of bird studies to make sure no migratory birds will be affected by their plan. And it should be out of the viewsheds of Canaan Valley and the Blackwater Canyon. "On the whole, wind power is a very good thing. But finding the best sites is very important. It is better to use areas that are already disturbed, not areas used as flyways by migratory birds," she said.

Billy Jack Gregg, the PSC consumer advocate, said, "The whole Allegheny Front region is a great wind resource. I would not be surprised to see other wind projects proposed in that area. There are a number already built up in Pennsylvania."

Mount Storm Wind Force is a subsidiary of U.S. Wind Force, a company headed by Tom Matthews in Baden, Pa. The company is in various stages of developing a 45-megawatt, 30-turbine project in western Maryland; a 15-megawatt, 10-turbine project in Pennsylvania, and conducting "site feasibility" studies in Washington and California. Mount Storm Wind Force will sell power through Allegheny Power's transmission system, according to documents filed with the PSC.

Gregg said the Mount Storm application is "part of a growing movement to put additional power-generating capacity in the state. Prior to recent applications, we had 14,500 megawatts of annual generating capacity. "For the past 20 years, West Virginia has been the leading electricity-exporting state in the nation. With all these new plants, we will add another 6,400 megawatts, an increase of 40 percent. "From a consumer's viewpoint, any market that has a lot of supply will have better prices than one that is tight on supply. We are a lot different from California," Gregg said.

Rodd said, "Once they have assured us the new plant will not affect birds or the tourism value of that area, we think wind power is a good thing. It is clean energy. But it is very important to use areas that are already disturbed, and not areas that are flyways for birds.

"Both cell [telephone] towers and the propellers on these wind turbines kill birds and bats. With the decline in migratory birds flying in our country, we have to be very cautious about creating new engines of destruction." Rodd also said state and national parks generate a lot more money for local economies than wind-driven power plants. "All the money from wind plants goes to out-of-state investors. They employ only two or three people after the wind farms are built. And the state Legislature recently exempted them from taxes."

Gregg said most of the new plants would use natural gas. "Now, they are swinging back to coal and we also have these environmentally friendlier wind plants." These new projects include: the hydroelectric plant already operating along the Gauley River at the Summersville Dam, two gas-peaking plants in Wayne County, a gas-peaking plant in Pleasants County, the Panda Energy International project in Culloden and two Cogentrix Energy plants in Marshall County.

Gas-peaking plants operate during the hottest days in the summer and the coldest days in the winter, when energy prices are at their peak. Gregg said the new plants would be able to generate 3,855 megawatts of power from natural gas, 2,200 megawatts from coal, 340 megawatts from wind and 80 megawatts from hydro.

In its application to the PSC, Mount Storm Wind Force stated it is not a public utility and asked the commission to exempt it from filing information about "proposed rates, project construction cost, project financing and estimates of operating revenues and expenses."

Anyone wishing to protest the proposed project must file a written protest with the PSC within 30 days. Protests should be addressed to: Sandra Squire, PSC Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 812, Charleston, WV 25323.