Well, that should do it, don’t you think?  No sense plopping the 747 size turbines on Virginia’s Poor Mountain.  Heck, when conditions are “prime,” the turbines have a difficult time puffing out enough electricity to read by, especially if you want it available at a time when you actually want to read.  But this Poor Mountain area is UNSUITABLE for a wind project!

In the following study, provided to us courtesy of VA Wind, Hollister Hartman, PhD backs up the title statement with significant data, and a superlative resume as a siting expert.

Have a read and then, following, we’ll have a few comments, and concerns.  If you’d rather download the pdf link, here it is: (http://www.vawind.org/Assets/Docs/091510/Poor_Mountain_Siting_Analysis.pdf):

Interesting, isn’t it?  Makes you wonder why anyone, save the wind developer, would consider proceeding with this dud and risk the negative environmental issues that come with such projects.  Sure, environmental groups often justify the intrusion of industrial wind in pristine woodlands as a trade for the greater environmental good.  We happen to believe that industrial wind adds no value to our current or future energy needs, anywhere, but heck … there’s no need to even argue that point in this instance … is there?  After all, the Poor Mountain area is UNSUITABLE for a wind project!

But, as we often find when dealing with the wind crowd, logic takes a back seat to policy, and policy often ignores science.  Sometimes, you see, science doesn’t give you the answers you need to do business.

We would hope this is not the case with Poor Mountain.  Folks facing the arrival of industrial wind in their communities, which will forever alter their environment, finances … their very lives, rely heavily on experts for guidance.  It would be more than a shame if any organization would use strong arm tactics to suppress or limit discussion in an effort to force consensus.  Everyone knows that always comes back to haunt!

We hope all the information available on the Poor Mountain project is allowed to be presented and the very report prepared by Dr. Hartman we provide here is receiving the attention it deserves.  Folks faced with a critical decision deserve all viewpoints, and all the time necessary to air them.  Having all the facts on the table will lead folks to the best decision possible.

Should any organization, with opportunity to do so, shirk its responsibility to educate its public, it will surely face severe criticism; especially should the project they supported be deemed a failure.  This is especially true if the organization has, as its mission, the protection of the environment and, by extension, the very public it claims to serve.

It seems to us, if Poor Mountain is truly an UNSUITABLE area for a wind project as the good Dr. Hartman suggests, the potential risk for failure is considerable.  We hope everything is on the table.

AT Note:

Hollister Hartman received her BS Degree in Biology from Yale University and her PhD in Population Biology (Applied Mathematics) from the University of California, Riverside.  She also received certification in Multi-Attribute Decision Making from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Hartman’s professional siting experience includes instituting integration of Geographic Information Systems; managing geophysical/biocultural modeling for compliance of EPA regulations and developing/implementing site selection methodologies for Hard Mobile Launcher, Small ICBM and Peacekeeper deployment.

Additionally, she identified pivotal geological & engineering criteria underlying intractable nuclear waste repository siting issues for the U.S Department of Energy Yucca Mountain Project, overseeing project performance against Federal, state and local regulations.

Dr. Hartman served in leadership positions with the National Research Council, the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) and numerous consortium appointments.

She serves her community as Vice Chair of the Sierra Club/Roanoke, VA Group; Member of the Franklin County Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee and Technical Analyst for defenders of Poor Mountain, VA.

Dr. Hartman is the author of several publications related to the fields of Civil Engineering and Natural Resource Management.