Pinnacle (WV) wind farm decommission study and (draft) escrow agreement published. (UPDATED 1/9/11)

Posted on January 8, 2011 by morgan

The Mineral County (WV) Commission is in the midst of critical negotiations with US WindForce LLC regarding the decommission of the Pinnacle wind farm planned for our community.  The documents under discussion are provided for your convenience below.

Following these reports, we provide a few comments which we hope you will consider.  We encourage your commentary as well.

1 – Decommissioning Study for the Pinnacle Wind Power Project:  (GL Garrad Hassan updated unit of measure to US convention)

2 – Draft: Decommission Fund and Escrow Agreement:

Now, my thoughts for the Mineral County Commission:

You folks have your work cut out for you.  It is my opinion that, at the very least, you should:

  • critically evaluate the credibility of what appears an off-the-shelf decommission study prepared by the consultant recommended by the wind farm developer and accepted, without consideration of a second opinion source by you, the Mineral County Commissioners
  • determine a clear line of responsibility for removing the turbines and ancillary equipment when the towers reach end of use status since the developer has stated that, should the two primary responsible parties default, effectively no one, including the County, is responsible to take action.  (I suppose the option is available that we simply watch the turbines fall and wait for them to disintegrate)
  • determine how much funding will be set aside to protect the citizens of Mineral County WV from financial hardship years from now, especially in light of the amazingly favorable and, in my mind, questionable determination by the developer-recommended consultant that the scrap value will more than offset the 18 month to 2 year process of decommissioning which includes labor, rigging/crane equipment and specialty transportation of the turbine components
  • instill confidence in the public that, in spite of no second opinion consideration for the decommission study, you personally and fully understand the decommission study and have constructed the most advantageous escrow agreement for the protection of the community, for which you, the Commissioners, ultimately must accept responsibility

No, my dear Commissioners, this is not your typical “how big should the welcome sign be?” decision.  But you should feel no pressure to hasten your decision.  There is no immediate need for the meager electricity output to come from this project and, frankly, that is not your concern anyway.  Your sole role in these negotiations is to protect those who placed you in office and, in order to do so, you must fully and personally understand that to which you will apply the authority they delegated to you.

Please also remember that, while consultants and lawyers may advise, the decision, and the results stemming from the decision rest fully on you.  If there’s any doubt that you will be left standing alone, take note of G.L. Garrad Hassan study opening statement:

“Acceptance of this document by the Client is on the basis that Garrad Hassan America, Inc. is not in any way to be held responsible for the application or use made of the findings or results of the analysis and that such responsibility remains with the Client.”

So, it’s important you understand that, “that’s not what they told me” will not explain away a bad decision in this multi-million dollar liability game.  This is all about protecting the residents of this county.  Choose your side wisely!

And, should it still not be clear to you, US WindForce LLC will not be here when the results come in.  They have stated time and again that their role is to secure permit approval and sell the authority to design, procure, build and operate the wind farm.  Along with that sale is the package of agreements in which you are key players.

Further, the negotiation US WindForce LLC is conducting with you is not for the the benefit of the community, otherwise they would bond happily and generously for our protection.  The reality is that US WindForce LLC is simply preparing a package to sell, and the fewer obligations, restrictions and costs they attach to the package, the more attractive the project will be to potential buyers.

Do not be lulled to sleep with promises of massive tax revenue as they will be quickly consumed by an ill-conceived decommission plan and inadequate escrow agreement.  Besides, I still believe the new project owner will apply for, and receive reductions in their tax obligations.

I also believe that, at the end of term some 20 years from now, when the parties negotiating today are long gone, our heirs will be left to negotiate a pittance with an unconcerned entity looking only to walk away from the massive problems associated with deconstruction and removal/sale of obsolete equipment/scrap.  Perhaps, as US WindForce LLC seems to imply by their optimistic scrap value scenario, you could find a serious business person willing to invest $2.7 million for 18 months to 2 years for a $35,000 profit, but no one comes to my mind.

Finally, dear Commissioners, while the US WindForce LLC folks seem to tell a much happier fairy tale of decommission, it doesn’t seem they actually believe it themselves.  Wouldn’t you would think, with the great opportunity they portray waiting down the road, they would jump at the chance to partner in the investment of the potential windfall?  Wouldn’t you think they would be demanding participation and a fair share in what they portray as the “profitable” decommission of the project, rather than simply cut and run?

Well, it’s probably obvious to you that I believe this community is being duped.  But I would really appreciate being proven wrong.  Maybe you can do that at the next Commissioner’s meeting.

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Decommission, US WindForce | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“As The Bull Flies!”

Posted on January 7, 2011 by morgan

Readers may have noticed a gap in posts over the last week or so.  I was off helping my daughter move into a new home and internet access was very limited.  A funny thing about being out of touch … I didn’t miss the daily posting routine at all.  It was nice not being reminded daily that my community is being duped.

It’s not that I didn’t have occasion to think about the absurdity of industrial wind.  But it was more from the absence of it.  You see, my daughter’s new home is heated by natural gas and, some 10 miles in the distance, I could see the steam clouds rising behind the mountains from the cooling tower of Three Mile Island.  Yes, that TMI!  The very same TMI which has been producing safe, clean, reliable, efficient on-demand electricity to citizens for dozens of years!  Clean natural gas and nuclear power … the real “green energy” dynamic duo.

Anyway, as I’m working my way through news alerts, emails and spam to catch up to the events of the last week, I find that, true to form, the industrial wind shenanigans did not take a holiday.

Admittedly, I only had time to scan, but the local press reports certainly have the making of an upcoming episode for our local soap opera, “As the Bull Flies!”  The trailer for the episode almost writes itself:

–Tune in folks, as one of our favorite characters, Frank Maisano, rehashes the “benefits” of the proposed Pinnacle wind installation, none of which, of course, have anything to do with electricity production.  Visit Mr. Maisano’s protected perch, some 170 miles away from the potential site of Mineral County’s authorized environmental disaster, as he chastises a local resident for speaking negatively of industrial wind, Mr. Maisano’s primary source of income.

–Travel with us to yesteryear as it is revealed, for the first time, that the Framers actually constructed the much revered Bill of Rights utilizing an ancient wind farm escrow agreement as the model.

–Be amazed as US WindForce’s David Friend convinces the County Commission that his statement to the Mineral Daily News Tribune that the PSC required escrow agreement, (intended to protect the public some 20 years from now), “will direct that sufficient funds to cover the cost of decommissioning be placed into an escrow account” and  “this amount could be in the form of cash or other financial instrument such as a letter of credit or parent guarantee” is not in conflict with his statement to the Advisory Committee that “the net scrap value of the 23 wind turbines to be constructed on Green Mountain should exceed the cost of dismantling the entire wind farm, thus making the provision for an escrow bond unnecessary.”

–Join me in hand-wringing suspense as we perhaps learn the identity of the secret benefactor who will step in to actually dismantle and remove the turbines many years from now if, as described by Mr. Friend, the “project company abandons this $131 million project” and the “property owners” also fail to take action, “The county is not required – under any circumstance – to decommission the project.”

–Watch the excitement build as our secret hero learns that, under the scenario painted by Mr. Friend which suggests the required escrow account perhaps not be funded, the $2.7 million expense related to dismantling and transport, the term of which Mr. Friend noted would be 18 months to 2 years, must be incurred prior to recovery from the sale of the scrap in order to make a $35,000 “profit.”

–Laugh out loud as representative after representative from G.L. Garrad Hassan, the consultant firm recommended by US WindForce and accepted without question by the Mineral County Commission to prepare the “detailed” decommission study required by the WV PSC to protect our future citizens, try to find Mineral County WV on a map.

–Stand in awe as US WindForce, having already recently admitted they will have nothing to do with design, procurement, construction, operation or dismantling of the Pinnacle project once they sell the permit approval to the future buyer, actually convinces our mesmerized community leaders that they should not entertain any serious questions about the project and should just, well, trust them.

Wow!  I can hardly wait!

Hey, come to think of it … if we go back just a little, we could probably gather enough material for a mini-series – “Industrial wind … optimism just isn’t enough.”

What do you folks think?

AT Notes:  Your comments are encouraged and will be posted, whether you agree or disagree.  Please also alert me to any errors, omissions or broken links via the comment section.

Thanks for coming by!

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Mineral County WV, Pinnacle Wind Farm, US WindForce, Wind Energy Shenanigans | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Oakland Maryland resident takes Cumberland Times-News to task.

Posted on January 7, 2011 by morgan

We thank Mr. Eric Robison for allowing us to post his response to the Editors of the Cumberland (Maryland) Times-News regarding their recent article “Which bat is which?”

Letter to the Editor,

I am responding to your article, “Which bat is which”, and was hoping to have a chance to offer the other side of the story.

In the past, Garrett County residents have had a good working relationship with Megan Miller from the Cumberland Times while she was assigned the Garrett beat, as it where, she will be missed, as she has moved on to greener pastures. In the past Megan would contact citizens from around Garrett County and give us a chance to offer some facts or at least a little back story to some of the issues within our county.

The article stated that Dan Feller with the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service of DNR had been contacted regarding the validity of a “robust population” of Indiana Bats living in John Friend cave. This cave was one named resource for the Indiana Bat in the filing of the Federal lawsuit against Constellation Green Energy, LLC. Mr. Feller refuted the bat population by saying “we haven’t had a substantiated record of the Indiana bat for a long time”. I found it disturbing that I personally contacted Dan Feller in March and April of 2010 and he would not go on record regarding bats at all. I then contacted Biologist Dan Boone (former endangered species coordinator of Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR)) and after months gained an ally regarding information about bats.

You must have failed to read the entire complaint filed with the court and should have pointed out the other bat resource within the complaint filing was the second half of paragraph 38 of the complaint reads “Constellation conducted acoustical surveys during construction and indeed detected the presence of Indiana bat calls resulting in a temporary halt to construction.” This information was forwarded to Save Western Maryland (SWM) attorneys thru the freedom of information act (FOIA) from Constellation’s attorneys when SWM first filed its 60 Day Notice of Intent. These recordings were done during the summer of 2010, oddly that fact was omitted from your article.

Save Western Maryland as a group, in filing this suit never requested that the operations of the Clipper/Criterion/Constellation project be delayed, stopped or altered. SWM requested that Court force Constellation, as a good corporate citizen, to file for and obtain an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) as the Federal law requires under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for federally endanger species, specifically the Indiana Bat, which Constellation said was present on their project site.

Hopefully in the future you will be willing to at least allow those that oppose issues that arise within their communities the opportunity to untie their hands and defend themselves prior to taking a beating in a public forum.

If you were to look at nearly every issue that Save Western Maryland has brought to light, in regards to our visiting Corporate Citizens, is the fact they have violated or not followed established Federal, State, and/or Local laws.

Eric Robison, Oakland Maryland

Allegheny Treasures note:  The complaint filed by Save Western Maryland to which Mr. Robison refers is provided here for your convenience:

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Bat/Bird Kills, Endangered Species Act, Save Western Maryland, US Fish &Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Get the Energy Sector off the Dole – Jeffrey Leonard

Posted on January 7, 2011 by morgan

Excellent advice from Jeffrey Leonard in the Washington Monthly:  “If President Obama wants to set us on a path to a sustainable energy future—and a green one, too—he should propose a very simple solution to the current mess: eliminate all energy subsidies. Yes, eliminate them all—for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, ethanol, even for wind and solar. It will be better for national security, the balance of payments, the budget deficit, and even, believe it or not, the environment.”

Full article at this link:  Get the Energy Sector off the Dole – Jeffrey Leonard.

(Thanks to Jon Boone)

 

Posted in Energy Subsidies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Breaking Wind – Quick hits from the industry for December 23, 2010

Posted on December 23, 2010 by morgan

Items of interest:

1-Number 4 of 4 in the series from Alex Epstein:

First three for your convenience:

2-T. Boone Pickens has the sense to do what our Congress does not:

3-In light of the latest subsidy squander by Congress, this borders on laughable:  “The U.S. said Wednesday it is requesting consultations with China at the World Trade Organization to end hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidies to boost wind-power production.”

4-From Oregon – Renewable Mandates:

5-Feet meet fire:

Posted in Breaking Wind | Tagged | Leave a comment

Will Harry Reid leave “the Pickens church,” now that the “pastor” is gone?

Posted on December 23, 2010 by morgan

In his Wall Street Journal commentary yesterday, Robert Bryce noted that “After 30 months, countless TV appearances, and $80 million spent on an extravagant PR campaign, T. Boone Pickens has finally admitted the obvious: The wind energy business isn’t a very good one.  The Dallas-based entrepreneur, who has relentlessly promoted his “Pickens Plan” since July 4, 2008, announced earlier this month that he’s abandoning the wind business to focus on natural gas.”

To fully appreciate Mr. Bryce’s commentary, A Wind Power Boone-doggle, you might want to view this video debate between Mr. Bryce and Mr. Pickens back in January in which Mr. Bryce alerted Mr. Pickens that industrial wind business is “a scam from beginning to end.”  Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/robertbrycetv#p/u/10/gnn2t5b6IGI

The real lesson here is that T. Boone finally had the sense to abandon the wind business.  But then, it is his own money and he cares what happens to it.

On the other hand, congress, who just extended billions in subsidies for this failed business, is using your money, and they frankly don’t seem to care that it’s wasted.

Visit the Robert Bryce web site:  http://www.robertbryce.com/

Posted in industrial wind failure, natural gas, Robert Bryce | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

SAVE WESTERN MARYLAND SUES CONSTELLATION ENERGY FOR VIOLATION OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Posted on December 22, 2010 by morgan

From the office of Attorney Kimberly A. Connaughton:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 22, 2010

 

SAVE WESTERN MARYLAND SUES CONSTELLATION ENERGY FOR

VIOLATION OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Save Western Maryland filed a federal lawsuit against Constellation Energy Group and their affiliate for violation of the Endangered Species Act, due to Constellation’s intrusive installation and operation of an industrial wind power facility on the ridgetop of Backbone Mountain which will result in the killing, injury and other forms of harm to the endangered Indiana Bat.

The Indiana bat is one of the most imperiled land mammals in the world.  Invaluable members of their ecosystems for their insect control capabilities, they are characterized by scientists as a keystone species.  Wind turbines pose a grave threat to Indiana bats in terms of collisions and barotrauma – a bloody explosion of the lungs of bats caused by passage through the low pressure zones created by the movement of the huge turbine blades.

The lawsuit is a result of Constellation’s failure to follow the well established procedure to acquire an Incidental Take Permit, which would allow bats to be killed but avoid liability under the Endangered Species Act.  Constellation has been aware of the presence of the Indiana bats at the site for years.  Indiana bats are known to inhabit numerous caves in the vicinity of the wind plant, including the John Friend Cave near Sang Run.

Save Western Maryland is joined on the complaint by the Maryland Conservation Council, Ajax Eastman and D. Daniel Boone.  The plaintiffs are represented by Moylan and Moylan of Baltimore.

-End-

For your convenience, the formal complaint:

Posted in Bat/Bird Kills, Endangered Species Act, Save Western Maryland | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“the public is building these wind farms for the investors and in return we get our electricity bills increased”

Posted on December 22, 2010 by morgan

Earlier in November we posted this:

Now this is some hope and change:  “President Obama’s top advisers recommended cutting off funding for a federal loan-guarantee program meant to spur the construction of wind and solar farms and other alternative energy projects, saying taxpayer dollars might be better spent elsewhere.”

Oh, but then there’s the politics of it all:  “But the advisers, including Mr. Obama’s outgoing National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, energy policy czar Carol Browner and Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, warned Mr. Obama that pulling money from the program would risk antagonizing powerful allies in Congress, and would “signal the failure of a Recovery Act program that has been featured prominently by the administration,” according to an Oct. 25 memorandum viewed by The Wall Street Journal.”

These people act as though it’s their money they’re tossing around.  Let’s demand the new congress shut down the free flow of money we don’t have into poor performing contraptions we don’t need.

Of course, the sausage factory that is the US Congress ignored all logic and tossed several billion at this scam to keep it limping along for another year.  In our Breaking Wind post yesterday we linked to our friends at Wind Concerns Ontario for the full Wall Street Journal editorial – The Wind Subsidy Bubble (Green pork should be a GOP budget target.), which again questions the logic of this spending.

Writing on the topic, Dallas Adams of Keyser, West Virginia offers this bulls-eye:

Dear Editor,

Hidden in the tax bill passed by Congress last week is grant program that pays cash to the wind industry to cover 30% of the cost of installing a wind farm.

This is on top of state and federal tax breaks, doubly accelerated depreciation, and above market pricing that already amount to 60% of capital costs. These figures come from a memo to President Obama, generated by the OMB and the Treasury. So, how much do the developers have to pay?  You guessed it, around 10%.  This means that the public is building these wind farms for the investors and in return we get our electricity bills increased.

The presidential briefing above uses a proposed $1.9 billion project in Oregon as an example.  When all is said and done, taxpayers will have given the project $1.2 billion and will own nothing.

It is pretty obvious to me that the public should take another look at industrial wind.  Why would we want to put this much of our money in something that will raise our electricity bills?

Dallas Adams

Keyser, WV

Quick, clear, and right to the heart of the matter!  Well done … and thank you, Mr. Adams!

Now, will someone please answer his question?

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Mineral County WV, Wind Power subsidies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Industrial wind’s floating crap game

Posted on December 22, 2010 by morgan

I’m just suspicious by nature, I suppose.  For example:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the jobs created when Nordic Windpower grabbed $16,000,000 from US taxpayers under a July, 2009 DOE loan guarantee to expand its US wind turbine production at their Idaho plant were counted positively under the Recovery Act.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the layoffs which will occur due to Nordic Windpower’s closing of the very same plant will roll over into that huge glob of unemployed, and there will be no adjustment to the number of jobs created or saved.  I bet they don’t even have to pay us back!

I wouldn’t be surprised if the 200 new jobs resulting from the Missouri Governor’s generous gift of $5.6 million of taxpayer money in the form of incentives for the company to make the move, will show on some ledger as jobs created.

No doubt the Obama Administration will gladly accept the jobs as new and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see the AWEA make the claim of increased jobs, as well.  Wait for it!

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if every time the temporary contractors leave one wind project for the next, they are counted as brand new jobs.

But, like I said, I’m just suspicious by nature.

Posted in Industrial wind jobs, Wind Energy Shenanigans, wind turbine noise | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Breaking Wind – Quick hits from the industry for December 22, 2010

Posted on December 22, 2010 by morgan

Items of interest:

1-Alex Epstein’s series at MasterResource: “Energy at the Speed of Thought” (part 1, 2, and 3 of 4):

2-From Texas, where wind is king:  “And wind farms are getting a disproportionate share of the tax benefits, according to the report. They are projected to receive 38 percent of the tax benefits awarded to the 98 projects but represent only about a fourth of the capital investment and 8 percent of the promised 6,239 jobs.”

3-“One of the big challenges of wind power is it is intermittent,” said Rob Newsom, a PNNL scientist. “We’re at the mercy of Mother Nature. Wind doesn’t always blow when we want it.”

4-West Virginia Incentives/Policies for Renewables & Efficiency  (thanks to the AHA):

5-“As more time has passed, it has become harder and harder to discount the testimonies of folks who are actually dealing with the realities of living in or near these industrial wind farms.”

Posted in Breaking Wind | Tagged | Leave a comment