MORGANTOWN (AP) — The Public Service Commission approved plans Monday for a 23-turbine wind farm in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, citing the hundreds of jobs and more than $1 million in state and county tax revenue it could generate.
The decision on the Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage in Mineral County came on the last day of the agency’s 300-day review period.
U.S. WindForce LLC of Greensburg, Pa., which plans to develop the project on a 3.5-mile stretch of Green Mountain, said it was delighted by the news.
The commission said its order requires WindForce to satisfy “a large number of conditions” before building the wind farm and while operating it, but details were not immediately available.
“While we have not yet had the opportunity to review the entire order, we are ready to put skilled West Virginians to work building this clean, renewable energy project,” said David Friend, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
The project is expected to produce 55 megawatts of power, or enough to supply 14,100 homes for a year.
Environmentalists had expressed worry about bat and bird populations, and other wildlife, and the Allegheny Front Alliance issued a statement calling the PSC ruling “disappointing.”
“These massive turbines will contribute little to the energy needs of our country and contribute less to the quality of life within our community,” said an e-mail from volunteer Frank O’Hara of Keyser.
The ruling only reinforces the group’s commitment to protecting the Allegheny Front’s cultural and natural environment, he said.
WindForce has been working on the $131 million project for several years, arguing it will produce as much energy annually as 87,000 tons of coal or 296,000 barrels of oil.
Six of the turbines would be built on land owned by NewPage Corp., which owns a paper mill in nearby Luke, Md. Based in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage also has mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nova Scotia, Canada.
Friend said an agreement to purchase power is still being negotiated with the University of Maryland, but he expects construction to begin sometime this year.
The PSC said the project will create 275 local construction jobs and about 15 permanent jobs, while also generating “significant tax revenues.”
If built to full capacity, Pinnacle would pay about $430,000 a year in taxes to Mineral County. It would also generate about $603,000 per year in state taxes during construction, and about $43,000 a year after that, the commission said.
State News
January 11, 2010
Pa. developer wins approval for W.Va. wind farm
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