Chalk up another lawsuit for WV wind plant.

Posted on November 10, 2013 by morgan

Add the Mike Haywood Group to the growing list of lawsuits filed against the Pinnacle wind plant in Mineral County WV – “Developer sues over Pinnacle Wind turbine project”

This most recent lawsuit seeks, as do other suits we’ve detailed at AT, a permanent injunction to stop use of the noisy turbines.  The Haywood complaint again brings into serious question the statements by Charley Parnell, who represents the owners of the wind plant, that “by all accounts, has been a significant improvement” since louvers intended to eliminate noise were installed last year.

Related links: Lock, stock and lawsuits? /“by all accounts” … well, sorta /All’s not quiet on the western ridgeline.

 

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Edison Mission Group, Mineral County WV, Pinnacle Wind Farm | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lock, stock and lawsuits?

Posted on October 23, 2013 by morgan

Financially challenged Edison Mission Energy appears to have found a buyer.   According to several articles appearing over the last few days a deal with NRG Energy seems to be taking shape.  Bankrupt Edison Mission Energy, which local residents know as the owners of the lawsuit plagued Pinnacle wind project, has requested an extension of it’s bankruptcy schedule in order to take advantage of the offer.

What this sale means for local residents is, of course, not clear.  But then, with the financial security of Edison Mission Energy doubtful right from the first twirl of the 23 massive turbines set along the fragile Allegheny Front ridgeline, some might say any action has to be an improvement.

How seriously the new owners take the issue of turbine noise, which is impacting the quality of life for multiple families residing near the Pinnacle turbines and the subject of ongoing federal lawsuits, will demonstrate whether NRG Energy actually lives up to their statements that they know their “business decisions impact the greater community” and that they “strive to ensure our corporate strategy reflects our commitment to social responsibility.”

Reuters reported that “most of the wind capacity and a 500 MW gas-fired plant could be “dropped down” to NRG’s NRG Yield Inc subsidiary, which was formed to operate and acquire power assets under long-term contracts. NRG Yield debuted on the public markets this year.”   The Pinnacle project construction was made possible by securing long term financial agreements with the State of Maryland and the University of Maryland. The two state agencies, in return for their financial commitment, would receive renewable energy credits which they could use to satisfy the demands of state renewable energy regulations.  (Funny, but some folks actually believed the electricity from the West Virginia turbines was somehow piped directly to the U of MD.  Sorry folks, but the only thing that directly moved in this transaction was hard earned money from the pockets of taxpayers  to the for-profit wind company.

We wish NRG Energy well in this adventure and hope they live up to the promises made to the community by the now defunct developer – US WindForce LLC and bankrupt Edison Mission Energy.  We also hope they remedy the turbine noise issue.

Past history tells us that it is almost too much to imagine NRG Energy will become fully transparent regarding actual turbine performance and the project’s full environmental impact, both of which are very important measures when considering future wind development in the Appalachian mountains … but one can always hope.

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Edison Mission Group, wind turbine noise | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Western Maryland residents ask authorities to stand firm against wind industry pressure.

Posted on October 8, 2013 by morgan

AT Note:  We thank the Ridenours for granting permission to post the following letter which they’ve addressed to the Allegany County (Maryland) Commissioners.

Letter begins:

Dear Allegany County Commissioners,

As taxpayers of Allegany County and residents of Harwood Subdivision located adjacent to the proposed Dan’s Mountain Wind Project, we respectfully request continued support of Code Home Rule Bill Number 2-09 and the wind farm zoning requirements contained within the bill.

The Code Home Bill was enacted in response to the threat of unregulated industrial wind farm development in Allegany County with input from Allegany County Citizens, Allegany County Planning and Zoning, the Allegany County Commissioners (James J. Stakem, Robert M. Hutcheson, and Dale R. Lewis) as well as representatives from U.S. Windforce.

This bill is the only line of defense against inconsiderate placement of wind turbines with respect to established homes in the county and must be defended at all costs in order to protect property values and most importantly, quality of life for the residents of Allegany County.

Any reductions, modifications, or allowed variances to the established zoning requirements contained within Code Home Rule Bill Number 2-09 will undoubtedly be taken advantage of by wind farm companies, and the residents of Allegany County will be forced to suffer the consequences for many years afterwards.

With this in mind, we respectfully request that the Allegany County Commissioners uphold the current wind farm zoning requirements and resist any industry pressure to reduce or accept variances to the present zoning protections afforded to the citizens of Allegany County.

Randy and Elaine Ridenour

Frostburg

Letter ends.

Related links:

Timing is everything!

MD PSC should deny Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC’s request to extend construction start deadline

Who was that masked man?

 

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Dan's Mountain Wind LLC, Western Maryland Wind | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“by all accounts” … well, sorta

Posted on October 2, 2013 by morgan

Add one more to the list of Federal lawsuits against the Pinnacle wind plant above Keyser, WV.

According to The Republic, Ms. Anna Bell Saville has filed suit in federal court asking for an injunction to shut down the 23 massive turbines and seeking damages as a result of sound and vibrations which she claims are “so intense that they cause anxiety, tinnitus, and mental and emotional distress that often force her to leave home.”

Edison VP Charley Parnell, representing the owners of the wind plant, disagrees and stated that, “by all accounts, has been a significant improvement” since louvers intended to eliminate noise were installed last year.

Interesting!  When asked about similar allegations in 23 recent federal lawsuits brought by some 38 local citizens, a point not mentioned in the AP article, Mr. Parnell also used the “by all accounts” claim.

Makes you wonder who exactly Mr. Parnell is polling?

Posted in Allegheny Mountains | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

All’s not quiet on the western ridgeline.

Posted on September 23, 2013 by morgan

By now, most folks in the area know that 23 lawsuits were filed in federal court on behalf of 38 area residents against the Pinnacle wind plant above Keyser, WV.  The locals cite mental and physical health problems related to the noise generated by the operation of massive turbines.

Apparently having mastered the dark art of spirit possession and entered the minds of these citizens, Charley Parnell, VP of Public Affairs for project owner Edison Mission Energy declared that “Pinnacle strongly denies the allegations being made against its wind energy project.”  Really?  You can somehow tell they’re just kidding about how their lives are impacted by the turbines?

Making a point in the same article which may have helped Mr. Parnell feel a little better but likely provided little solace to the Keyser residents mentioned in the lawsuit, the Edison representative stated that he “wasn’t aware of any other complaints about noise causing health issues at any of the other wind farms that Edison owns.”  Apple … meet orange!

Mr. Parnell did note that Edison worked with the Japanese company which manufactured the Pinnacle turbines which, by the way, sit high above the ridgeline of the Allegheny Front on tower sections made in Mexico, to develop louvers intended to minimize noise concerns raised by other distraught citizens a year or so ago.

In the Cumberland Maryland Times-News article Mr. Parnell also stated that, “By all accounts they (louvers) had a dramatic impact on the noise of the wind turbines.”  Perhaps “by some accounts” might be a more apt assessment of the “dramatic impact” based on the fact that 38 nearby residents are today very unhappy with the results.

In any case, it appears Edison Mission Energy is implying that the current lawsuit is frivolous, at least in part, due to the louvers.  And from that, one might also be led to believe that the louvers, which were were installed as resolution to noise complaints raised by members of the Braithwaite family over a year ago, satisfied their concerns.  We do know that even after a disappointing decision from the WV PSC regarding the Braithwaite’s formal request for assistance in resolving the noise problem, the complaints against Edison and Pinnacle seemed to cease.

It seems to me that Edison’s claim of louvers as resolution adds an interesting twist to the discussion.  If the louvers did, in fact, reduce the sound enough to satisfy the discouraged homeowners who complained so forcefully last year, why are the turbines still too noisy for the current crop of complainers?  And if it wasn’t the louvers which resolved the severe noise problem of last year, what exactly was the remedy?

What am I missing?

By the way, the statement in the lawsuit that Mission Wind and Pinnacle Wind were not part of the EME Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing seems confirmed by this statement from the paper’s December 20, 2012 edition:  “EME’s wind energy projects are not part of the chapter 11 filing,” said (EME Spokesman Douglas) McFarland. “They remain a part of EME but do not rely on funding from EME and operations are not affected — in fact, operations at all of our energy generation sites are ongoing as normal and as provided for under the typical chapter 11 process.”

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Edison Mission Group, Pinnacle Wind Farm, Pinnacle Wind Force LLC, wind turbine noise | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Timing is everything!

Posted on September 20, 2013 by morgan

Just as attempts are ongoing to revitalize the Dan’s Mountain wind project in Western Maryland, which apparently will include an effort by the developer to modify an ordinance passed some time ago to protect local citizens, word comes from nearby West Virginia that some 23 federal lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 38 Keyser residents against a local windfarm, alleging the sound of the turbines caused mental and physical health problems and the proximity caused homes to lose their value.

The developer of the Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC project , Laurel Renewable Partners LLC was, until recently, called US WindForce LLC which, coincidentally, was the developer of the Pinnacle Wind project which is named in the lawsuit.

This lawsuit is not the first health related problem the Pinnacle project has faced.  In December 2011, shortly after the turbines were fired up, folks who had actually welcomed the project began to experience difficulties to the extent that one individual was quoted in several venues stating, “The noise from these windmills is so great that it is impossible to live near them.”

The noise issues were taken to the WV Public Service commission to no avail.

After months of back and forth concerning Pinnacle noise, with no public statement regarding the details of the resolution, the conversation between the wind project owners and the complaining party suddenly became very quiet.  Obviously though, based on this new lawsuit brought on by 38 Keyser residents, the 23 massive turbines have not become quiet.

Now to the Dan’s Mounatin Wind Force LLC project.

Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC was recently successful convincing the Maryland Public Service Commission that they needed an extension of the deadline imposed some time ago, citing as one reason, financial problems with Edison, the financially strained energy company and current owner of Pinnacle and their planned partner at Dan’s Mountain.

The MD PSC was informed that Excelon has replaced financially troubled Edison as partners on the project.  Interesting choice perhaps, as Michigan’s Huron Daily Tribune noted in an article this week that some members of the Huron Board of Commissioners has reservations about the participation of Excelon in wind projects there.

And we now learn that that Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC sees the extension as an opportunity to to work on “restrictive Allegany County zoning rules and any court action that might be required,” according to the Cumberland Times-News.

Yes, the developer will be using the extension, at least in part, to try to get around the safety measures put in place by local officials.  But any attempt to modify the restrictions put in place by authorities in order to protect citizens, especially in light of the health related lawsuit at neighboring Pinnacle, should be met with great skepticism.

There can be no clearer example of the risk faced by the neighbors of the proposed Dan’s Mountain wind project than what is actually happening just a few miles away at the Pinnacle project, which was developed by the very same individuals responsible for Dan’s Mountain.

If there is any doubt about the risk, perhaps Maryland citizens could speak with their West Virginia neighbors.   I suspect Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC is hoping that you won’t.

Posted in Dan's Mountain Wind, wind turbine noise | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MD PSC should deny Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC’s request to extend construction start deadline

Posted on August 21, 2013 by morgan

Editor’s note:

We thank Ms. K. Darlene Park for providing us with a copy of the letter she recently sent to the Maryland Public Service Commission in response to the request by Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC to extend the construction start deadline for the proposed Dan’s Mountain Industrial Wind Facility.

We provide the letter in its entirety and without comment, although your comments are certainly encouraged.

For your convenience, the full text of Dan’s Mountain LLC’s Motion to Extend is provided following the letter.

Letter begins:

August 13, 2013
 
Hon. David J. Collins Executive
Secretary Maryland Public Service Commission
William Donald Shaffer Tower
6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
 
Re: Case No. 9164
 
Dear Mr. Collins:

As a resident of Allegany County, Maryland, I request you do not place the Motion of Dan’s Mountain Wind Force, LLC to Extend Construction Start Deadline on the agenda for the August 28, 2013 Administrate Meeting. Nor do I want you to extend the September 12, 2013 deadline for the start of construction date, as requested in their Motion dated July 31, 2013.

Dan’s Mountain Wind Force went into great details of their pathetic failed partnership and business plan, dysfunctional management skills, and bankruptcy/financing problems with Edison Mission Energy in this Motion. As they mentioned, US Wind Force, LLC use to own Dan’s Mountain Wind Force; however, US Wind Force does not exist today. So now we have a new player, Laurel Renewal Partners, LLC (Laurel) with two old names from US Wind Force, owning Dan’s Mountain Wind Force.

Laurel’s newest deal with Exelon is of no comfort; no information is available about the location of the 25 turbines, size, make and model of the turbines, and where the turbine will be manufactured. US Wind Force used the turbines from the Dan’s Mountain Project for the Pinnacle Project in Mineral County, WV; the noises from the Pinnacle Project’s turbines were so bad the residents filed a lawsuit. The residents won an out of court settlement and US Wind had a “Gag Order” imposed.

With Laurel having already negotiated the sale to Exelon, when the Dan’s Mountain Project is built, I am certain environmental issues and storm water management will be of minimum importance and every short cut will be taken in construction to maximize their profits.

Since US Wind Force does not exit, all the “MEMORANDUM OF LEASE” and “MEMORANDUM OF WIND ENERGY LEASE AND AGREEMENT” filed at the Allegany County Court House, with the land owners, are not valid. US Wind Force/Dan’s Mountain Wind Force reneged on these lease agreements (by their admission in the Motion, page 6), thus, owe back payments to the landowners and have to “consummate negotiations with property owners to obtain the necessary authorizations.” The Maryland Public Service Commission granted an eighteen month extension from March 12, 2012 to September 12, 2013. On page eight, Laurel Renewal Partners states, “negotiations with leaseholders and other landowners are ongoing”. Financing was not in place eighteen months ago and is not in place now; not having these agreements signed at this time, proves the lack of support and readiness to advance to the building stage. The project has gone backwards; it is not a “viable” project.

I take issue with the claim that the “political atmosphere at the County appears to be supportive” for the Dan’s Mountain Project because it is not true. In the Cumberland Times-News, dated Wednesday, August 07, 2013, article (Dan’s Mountains Wind Force requests more time to start building), Commissioner President Michael McKay stated, “I don’t know where they get that. This set of commissioners is not going to be getting into undoing or trying to change requirements already set. The community has already had that conversation. This issue was put to rest by the previous board. It’s not on our agenda.”

Laurel has an illusion of a wind turbine farm on Dan’s Mountain. However, as a resident of one of the 225 homes located within the one mile radius of the project (Document A), I can confirm that no one wants to hear the noise, feel the vibration, and see the flickers from the turbines. A home is the largest investment a family has; no one wants that investment devalued, made unsellable and unlivable. We choose to live in Allegany County for the environment and quality of life. That is the reason the county residents banded together to get Code Home Rule Bill No. 2-09 passed on June 4, 2009. This bill was passed “to protect the safety and well-being of Allegany County … to provide additional protection for the public and adjoining landowners from development of wind energy devices.” Laurel needs to move the project to a less populated location that meets the criteria outlined in Code Home Rule Bill No. 2-09. As of January 4, 2012, there are sixteen (16) out of twenty-three (23) counties in Maryland with wind turbine ordinances; we are not the exception, we are the standard!

Approximately three of the turbines are located in the LaVale Region Comprehensive Plan, approved October 2007. On page 2-12, paragraph 3.c., it states: “New communication towers and wind energy conversion systems (e.g., wind turbines and associated features) will be prohibited.” Dan’s Mountain does not address this issue in the Motion, but Allegany County will not amend this document either; Allegany County residents do not want to lose Maryland’s highest ridge tops of wildlife and trees.

I sent a letter to Governor Martin O’Malley, dated November 07, 2008, asking for his help in protecting the residents of Allegany County concerning wind turbines; I received a reply, dated March 19, 2009, which states, “Although I understand your concerns, this issue would best be handled by local officials in Allegany County. I am forwarding your correspondence to the Office of Allegany County Commissioner James Stakem… where this matter can be addressed.” This county has addressed the issue of wind turbines’ separation distances, setback requirements, electromagnetic interferences, decommissioning, groundwater protection bond, and supplemental safety provisions in Code Home Rule Bill No. 2-09. I am quite certain if your Honor’s home was located within a mile or ever two miles of a wind turbine farm, you would want all of these provisions in place. By extending the start construction date a second time for the Dan’s Mountain Project, you will be trying to undermine and manipulate our American rights to protect our quality of life and the democratic process of self government by the people.

In conclusion, I requested you to please, do not place the Motion of Dan’s Mountain Wind Force, LLC to Extend Construction Start Deadline on the agenda for the August 28, 2013, Administrate Meeting, and do not extend the September 12, 2013 deadline for the start of construction date. This project lacks credibility, financing, and support from the residents and the elected county officials. None of the codes, regulations or comprehensive plans will be changed to accommodate this project.

Sincerely,

K. Darlene Park, Allegany County Maryland

Copies to:

Allegany County Commissioner Michael McKay

Allegany County Commissioner William Valentine

Allegany County Commissioner Creade Brodie

Letter ends!

______________________________

Related post:  Who was that masked man?

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Dan's Mountain Wind LLC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who was that masked man?

Posted on August 19, 2013 by morgan

A little history before I get into today’s topic:

Back in October 2011, I posted a little rant titled “Confused in West Virginia.”  My confusion, at the time, had to do with an August 2011 FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) filing for the Pinnacle wind plant in Mineral County WV and the fact that, while David K. Friend’s US WindForce LLC was the face of Pinnacle’s development in our community for years, US WindForce LLC was missing among the several company names listed in the application with the Pinnacle filing.

Until this filing I had no indication that Pinnacle Wind Force LLC, which as of January 2011 was owned by Mr. Friend’s US WindForce LLC, had been sold.  Further adding to my confusion was that a week after the August FERC filing, which excluded US WindForce LLC, Mr. Friend was still apparently speaking on behalf of the Pinnacle project as US WindForce LLC.

I commented at the time that, in light of the confusion, ” it would be nice to know the specific entity responsible to fulfill the promises and agreements made to our community by US WindForce.”

Well folks, it seems the responsibility won’t fall on David K. Friend’s US WindForce LLC.  The LLC appears to be kaput, based on this note on their web page:

US Wind Force LLC is no longer in business.

Contact dkfriend@laurelrenewabl.com if necessary.

Now, with the evaporation of US WindForce LLC, it seems our Mr. Friend would like you to contact him at his new digs – Laurel Renewable Partners LLC.

Address for David K. Friend at apparently now defunct US WindForce LLC:

  • 645 East Pittsburgh Street, Suite 356,  Greensburg, PA 15601

Address for David K. Friend at Laurel Renewable Partners LLC:

  • 645 E. Pittsburgh Street, #356, Greensburg, PA 15601

Interesting, don’t you think?

The address above for Mr. Friend’s Laurel Renewable Partners LLC appeared in a June 19, 2013 letter to the WV Public Service Commission, containing this in the subject block:

Mt. Storm Wind Force, LLC
Case No. 01-1664-E-CN (closed entry)
Transfer of Mt. Storm Wind Force, LLC Membership Interests

The gist of the letter is notification to the WV PSC that the interest of Mount Storm Wind Force LLC moves from US WindForce LLC to Laurel Renewable Partners LLC.  For your convenience, here’s the letter in full:

So it now appears the disappearing David K. Friend of US WindForce LLC fame has resurfaced as David K. Friend of Laurel Renewable Partners LLC, assuming a major (all?) interest in Mt. Storm Wind Force LLC, which holds “a certificate of convenience and necessity (“Certificate”) to construct and operate a wind power generating facility in Tucker and Grant Counties, West Virginia.”

Coincidentally, a recent article in the Cumberland (MD) Times News notes that Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC, “has asked the Maryland Public Service Commission to allow more time for the company to begin construction of about 25 wind turbines atop that prominent Allegany County (Maryland) ridgeline.”

It seems the earlier cast of Allegheny County Commissioners enacted an ordinance to protect their residents which made compliance difficult for the wind company.  But rather than adjust to the wishes of the community’s representatives, Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC is back for another shot, thinking that maybe “the current Allegany County commissioners are more receptive to wind turbine development than was the previous administration.”

And who’s leading the charge?  Laurel Renewable Partners LLC, which now owns Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC, which used to be owned by none other than David K. Friend’s US WindForce LLC until, that is, US WindForce LLC went out of business.

Boy!  Whoever thought up this LLC “Whack-A-Mole” thing must have had wind developers in mind.  For sure, if nothing else, the whole process serves to confuse.

You see, in my view, wind developers were successful moving into the Alleghenies, which has marginal winds to support the technology, because folks knew little about them.  Take the Pinnacle wind plant as example.

The LLC came in to the community swinging their bag full of promises, wooing community leaders with promises of jobs and cash and flooding the public with ready-to-print materials, much of it drawn from resources offered by the heavily funded national wind lobby.  The few naysayers who dared question the encroachment were dismissed as backward thinking clods, or worse.

Permit review by the WV Public Service Commission shoved aside concerns for noise and wildlife – where US WindForce LLC ignored the concerns of both the US Fish and Wildlfe Service and the WV Department of Natural Resources.

One could wonder, with the potential demise of Edison Mission due to bankruptcy so soon after start-up of its Pinnacle wind plant, how seriously the WV PSC takes its own vision statement (Item 5)  – “That consumers receive the best value in utility service from financially viable and technically competent companies …”

The WV PSC seems to have joined the ranks of other state regulators simply rubber stamping such projects.

Enabled by funding from sheepish government entities simply trying to comply with the whims of other government agencies, Pinnacle was constructed.

Serious questions regarding performance to promise which were raised to the very elected officials who supported the Pinnacle project were ignored, without the courtesy of a reply.

And now, the “partner” who secured permission to inhabit our fragile ridge line with these 747 size turbines is no more.

In the past, once a project was completed, those who objected were worn out and the newly disenchanted simply griped.  The fight was not carried forward and wind LLCs had the luxury of little of their previous actions traveling with them into their next target area.  This, of course, enabled them to use the same tactics in the next community.

But something has changed which might not favor the weed-like wind LLCs … their success.  I’ve stated before that “The greatest threat to the wind industry’s growth is, in fact, the wind industry’s growth.”   As these energy impostors consume more and more of our mountain ridges, the evidence of their horribly poor performance mounts.

The environmentalists who now support industrial wind will soon see, in the actual performance results, the technology has not, and cannot, live up to its promises.  They will soon understand the dramatic cumulative impact of these rapidly adjoining installations which are forming a deadly gauntlet on the land they’ve sworn to protect.

One day, sooner rather than later I hope, they will insist that no additional habitat should be sacrificed to this poor performing profit-based business.

I can’t stress enough that communities dealing with wind developers must understand the Developer’s true role in the process, including final construction and operation of the wind plant they are promoting.

As example, a lot of folks thought Mr. Friend’s US WindForce would construct the Pinnacle project.  In fact, Richard Kerns of the News-Tribune noted on September 1, 2009, that – “If approved, WindForce officials expect to begin construction in the spring, with completion by the end of 2010.”

Yet on October 26 2009,  just a few weeks later, US WindForce LLC’s Mr. Friend testified before the WV Public Service Commission that, “The challenge is we don’t know quite for sure when it will go to construction. In other words, Edison’s — the very high echelons of Edison have to make a final go/no-go decision for this project. And if for some reason something changed between us getting the permit and they’re making that final determination, some kind of a significant change in the economy, they may look at it and say, look, we don’t want to do this.”

Obviously, Mr. Friend didn’t have as much control over the project as some community members initially believed.

The above referenced Cumberland Times News article about Dan’s Mountain LLC’s request for an extension ends with this comment:  “DMWF has entered into a new agreement, this one with Exelon, for development of the local project. Eventually, Chicago-based Exelon would purchase the operation.”

To my mind, Laurel Renewable Partner LLC’s ultimate role in the Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC project should be publicly defined so Mr. Friend’s statements and commitments regarding the project may be considered in that light.

I’ve provided below the WV PSC testimony in which Mr. Friend describes the agreement between then US WindForce LLC and Edison Mission.  The folks protecting Dan’s Mountain may find it instructional.  (Beginning on Page 85)

WV PSC Testimony – October 26, 2009

__________________________

For me, this comment appearing in a Business Wire article just prior to construction of the Pinnacle project says it all: “This project has come this far thanks to the partnership with the community,” said David Friend, chairman and CEO of US Wind Force. “We appreciate the community’s broad support for the project.”

Now, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a number of folks in Mineral County who vocally supported the construction of Pinnacle feeling a little duped by their “partnership” with a now defunct developer and a bankrupt owner.

AT NOTE 1: We encourage readers to visit the web site of The Allegheny Highlands Alliance (AHA), a consortium of citizen/environment organizations with membership in five states along the Allegheny Front.

AT NOTE 2:  Please advise any corrections, omissions or dead links in the comment section.  Your comments, pro or con, are always welcome.

Posted in Allegheny Highlands Alliance, Allegheny Mountains, industrial wind failure, Mineral County WV, Western Maryland Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Too hot to work?

Posted on July 29, 2013 by morgan

Several Keyser, WV residents were surprised that during the recent spell of very … very hot days, the 23 massive wind turbines of the Pinnacle wind plant in Mineral County WV sat idle for much of the time.  One would think the blades would be constantly spinning during this period of obvious high demand for electricity.  But then, that’s the problem with very hot days … there’s little wind.

In a recent article, Dominion CEO Tom Farrell noted that, on the 11 hottest days in Washington last year, Dominion – which supplies electricity to the Virginia suburbs – was able to average just 1 MW from its nearby 182 MW wind farm.

As Rick Webb of VA Wind noted, “during the peak demand period (usually the hottest days of summer), when generation capacity needs are established (and when PJM determines “capacity credit”), this large Dominion project had a capacity factor of 0.5%.”

And what do we sacrifice for industrial wind’s incredibly poor performance?

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, industrial wind failure, industrial wind poor performance, Virginia Wind, West Virginia Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wind to Work

Posted on July 20, 2013 by morgan

We thank the Allegheny Highlands Alliance for granting permission to post their most recent video titled, “Wind to Work.”

The Allegheny Highlands Alliance (AHA) is a consortium of citizen/environment organizations with membership in five states along the Allegheny Front. AHA is in the process of discovering the facts about industrial wind, its potential to reduce green house gases, its economics and the impact of industrial wind energy project installations on the ecology and human health.

The mission of AHA shall include but not be limited to the following:

  • Advance public knowledge of the cultural and biological diversity, uniqueness, and ecological sensitivity of our mountains.
  • Preserve and protect areas of particular scenic, geologic, biologic, historic, wilderness, and recreational importance.
  • Aid in the creation and implementation of sustainable local, state and federal governmental policies for the conservation and wise management of energy, water, wildlife, and other natural resources.
  • Conduct research and distribute information regarding the costs and benefits of renewable energy development on forested mountain ridges.

Please be sure to visit the Allegheny Highlands Alliance web page for additional information.

Contact Larry Thomas, President at larryvthomas@aol.com

Posted in Allegheny Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Electric Grid, Electricity baseload, Environment, Friends and Citizens Groups, industrial wind failure, industrial wind poor performance | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment