The Animal Welfare Institute, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and David G. Cowan have filed a law suit against Beech Ridge Energy LLC and Invenergy Wind LLC under the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). This filing seeks preliminary injunction to halt further construction, turbine erection, and operation of the Beech Ridge industrial wind power project. The plaintiffs argue that the project, if constructed, will result in the "likely killing, injury, and other forms of "take" of endangered Indiana bats in violation of the ESA." The wind project is proposed to be located on ridgelines in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

After reviewing data collected during a groundbreaking research effort, the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC), a government-conservationindustry partnership, reported today substantial bat kills at two wind farms in the mid-Atlantic region between August 1 and September 13 of 2004. The report summarizes the first year’s research on potential causes and solutions. The research included the most detailed studies ever performed on bat fatality at wind sites and provides a foundation for further efforts aimed at better understanding why bats are being killed and how to minimize future fatalities.

This document includes studies in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

Capacity Factor by Month: (1) Mountaineer Windplant, WV, (2) Meyersdale Windplant, PA, (3) Mill Run Windplant, PA, and (4) Waymart Windplant, PA.
This information, by month, highlights the issue of whether wind is available when electricity is needed. The charts reflect strong winds in the winter months and considerably lighter winds in the summer when demand for electricity is expected to peak.

From: Sam Enfield - Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation

Sent: Thu 2/12/2004

To: Jessica Almy, Humane Society, U.S.

Subject: FAQs about Bats and Wind Energy Turbines

Sorry, just to be a little more precise that I was in my prior e-mail.

....By way of introduction, I managed the development work on the Backbone Mountain Wind Project, now the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center, in West Virginia. Your FAQs about Bats and Wind Energy Turbines is good, although I just wanted to correct one statement about which I have specific knowledge.

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.

This important peer-reviewed paper written by bat expert Dr. Thomas H. Kunz et al identifies the significant risk wind turbines pose for migratory and local bat populations in the mid-Atlantic Highlands region of the United States. The projected number of annual fatalities of bats at wind energy facilities in the Highlands in the year 2020 can reach up to 111,000 bats.

This document provides before and after aerial photos of the very southern end of the NedPower wind facility, the most recently constructed wind energy facility in the mid-Atlantic region. The project is comprised of 132 2-MW Gamesa wind turbines, each nearly 400 feet tall. Extensive clearing of forest was done to install the turbines and other project infrastructure. The average width of the area bulldozed for road corridor varies from about 75 to 100 feet.

"This is an action....to obtain access to records in possession of the Department of the Interior and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ('FWS') concerning wildlife injuries and deaths caused by wind power facilities and FWS's enforcement of environmental laws with respect to wind power facilities."

We are writing to request that the General Accounting Office undertake a study on the interim guidance issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the development of wind turbine facilities ......