http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/20693 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:04:22 GMT The House has apparently killed a resolution supporting development of a wind farm on the site of a planned mountaintop removal mine. Activists with Coal River Mountain Watch have been pressing Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy to drop its mining plans in Raleigh County in favor of a wind farm. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20693 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19794 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:14:38 GMT Fresh from beginning the formal application process with the West Virginia Public Service Commission, US WindForce will meet tonight with area residents as part of its ongoing public outreach efforts on the Pinnacle Wind Farm near Keyser. The Community Advisory Panel for the Pinnacle project will meet at 6 p.m. at the WindLea Conference and Banquet Center. The meeting is open to the public. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19794 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18984 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:10:14 GMT e West Virginia Public Service Commission is expected to reach a decision today on whether to grant AES' siting permit to construct up to 65 wind turbines on the Laurel Mountain ridge between Barbour and Randolph counties. ...The PSC has been considering all of the written evidence and testimony in order to arrive at a decision in the case. Today is the final day in the statutorily imposed 300-day process for the PSC to make a decision. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18984 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18249 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:40:10 GMT In newspaper advertisements, ApCo says customers who sign up are "investing in a future of energy that's both clean and green." ...But ApCo has already agreed to buy the green power. ApCo contracted for 75 megawatts of energy from the Camp Grove Wind Farm in central Illinois and 100 megawatts from the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in western Indiana. ApCo already buys power from Summersville Hydro in West Virginia, and has plans to buy from the Beech Ridge Wind Energy project in Greenbrier County when it is finished. So what's the benefit if ApCo customers sign up, given that the company's already buying the green power? http://www.windaction.org/articles/18249 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17576 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:15:56 GMT Virginia may have given a controversial power line an initial "yes," but Pennsylvania has given it an initial "no." In a ruling released late Thursday, regulatory judges in Pennsylvania recommended that the state's Public Utilities Commission deny applications from Allegheny Power and Dominion Virginia power to build the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line. A hearing examiner for the Virginia State Corporation Commission has recommended approval for the controversial power line, but only on the condition that West Virginia and Pennsylvania also sign off on the plan. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17576 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17394 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:48:12 GMT Coal River Mountain in Raleigh County may soon become the center of an energy battle that pits fossil fuels against non-fossil renewable sources. At issue is this: Should we develop coal resources now if that will destroy wind resources that can be harnessed forever? North Carolina-based community organizers Appalachian Voices decided to raise this question. The group contracted national wind development consultants WindLogics to analyze some likely wind resources in southern West Virginia. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17394 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16198 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:14:21 GMT Wind farming or strip mining? Which energy extraction method should be used on Coal River Mountain? Residents of Clear Fork, Marsh Fork and other Raleigh County areas, with the support of environmental and community organizations such as Coal River Mountain Watch, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, asked the Raleigh County Commission Tuesday to support a proposed wind farm, which they say offers more long-term economic, social and environmental benefits to the county. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16198 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9395 Fri, 04 May 2007 11:32:43 GMT Appalachian states lack strong and detailed guidelines to regulate the continued growth of wind power facilities along the Mid-Atlantic highlands, according to a new study by the National Academy of Sciences. A team of academy experts concluded that wind power can help offset the greenhouse emissions caused by coal and other fossil-fuel energy sources, but the projected growth of wind power in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania creates potential threats to bird and bat populations that are not fully understood, the academy study found. Windmill "farms" also can cause other environmental problems and create legitimate aesthetic concerns for local communities - ranging from damage to scenic vistas to noise and "shadow flicker," a strobe-like effect created by rotating turbines, the report found. "The United States is in the early stages of learning how to plan for and regulate wind-energy facilities," says the report, compiled by the National Academy's National Research Council. The report said the cumulative effects of continued growth in wind power are unclear, and that further study is needed. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9395 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9277 Wed, 02 May 2007 10:47:47 GMT Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va., told a House committee Tuesday about the dangers wind turbines in West Virginia and elsewhere pose to birds and bats. "In the past, West Virginia's natural resources were exploited without regard to the long-term environmental consequences, and I think it's imperative that this not be allowed to happen again," Mollohan told the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans during Tuesday's hearing, the first congressional hearing on the impact of huge wind turbines on wildlife. Mollohan also spoke about the size of the wind projects on West Virginia's mountain ridges. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9277 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8655 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:29:22 GMT States with renewable portfolio standards have generated growth in the renewable energy sector, but many of the Appalachian states don't have one. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New York all have some fairly progressive goals, but West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee don't have a state RPS and wind projects often ignite battles. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8655 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8027 Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:03:09 GMT More than four years later, despite still more proposals from developers, the 44 giant windmills at the Mountaineer site on Backbone Mountain remain the only wind towers in West Virginia, although work on the NedPower site began last fall. Why the delay? There are a host of reasons, but Billy Jack Gregg puts it simply: public opposition. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8027 http://www.windaction.org/articles/5166 Sun, 17 Sep 2006 22:04:32 GMT But Manchin's proposal went a step beyond talk and ideas, setting out a concrete way to begin attracting more money to development of ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind or biomass electricity generation. “I've always been told the $35, $40 range (per barrel of oil) is where alternative fuels become viable” Manchin told The News-Record after a tour of Arch Coal's Black Thunder mine. “Let's find that benchmark ... I don't see another way.” http://www.windaction.org/articles/5166 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3634 Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:12:03 GMT Peltz sees windmills as “a small piece of the puzzle,” with the major roles in the energy drama occupied by oil and coal. http://www.windaction.org/articles/3634 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3456 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:34:09 GMT CHARLESTON -- Gov. Joe Manchin proposed legislation for the special session that began Tuesday that would temporarily bar siting new wind farms near airports. http://www.windaction.org/articles/3456 http://www.windaction.org/articles/914 Wed, 14 Dec 2005 12:53:03 GMT CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A national panel studying the emergence of wind farms in the Mid-Atlantic region learned Wednesday that West Virginia is still trying to develop effective ways to regulate the industry. http://www.windaction.org/articles/914 http://www.windaction.org/articles/883 Tue, 13 Dec 2005 02:02:26 GMT Wind farms in West Virginia will have to do more to show they’re complying with state and federal regulations under a ruling just issued by the state Public Service Commission. http://www.windaction.org/articles/883 http://www.windaction.org/articles/850 Thu, 08 Dec 2005 14:44:20 GMT CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Virginia Highlanders following the debate on the impacts of commercial wind turbine projects may want to head next door to West Virginia next Wednesday. http://www.windaction.org/articles/850 http://www.windaction.org/articles/703 Thu, 01 Dec 2005 19:26:07 GMT "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Dave Groberg, project developer for Invenergy Wind LLC told 60 members of Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy (MCRE) Tuesday at Williamsburg’s community center. "While many people find wind turbines graceful and attractive, others disagree." He was referring to the 131 wind turbines his Chicago-based company hopes to erect on the mountain ridges of northwestern Greenbrier County. http://www.windaction.org/articles/703 http://www.windaction.org/articles/298 Tue, 29 Jun 2004 17:34:19 GMT Must West Virginia play host to thousands of clean, green, scenery-despoiling machines to make urban environmentalists feel better? At the cost of how many birds and bats? http://www.windaction.org/articles/298 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23450 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:32:26 GMT Tom Hewson of Energy Ventures Analysis, Inc. ("EVA") was hired by the citizen's group, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, to evaluate a Decommissioning Cost Report prepared for the Beech Ridge Energy Project - a 124-turbine project proposed for Greenbrier County, West Virginia. His summary below provides insight into what communities and permitting agencies should be looking for when evaluating decommissioning plans. Mr. Hewson's memo on decommissioning of the Beech Ridge wind facility, which was included in the public record before the West Virginia Public Service Commission on the project, can be accessed by clicking on the link below. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23450