News
Critics of power source seek legal, other remedies to halt projects
CUMBERLAND - A lot of people don't want wind turbines in their back yard. Wind turbines have come under critical scrutiny by individuals and groups who hope to halt the advancement of the renewable energy resource.
February 7, 2006
by Mona Ridder, Staff Writer
in Times-News
Citing threats to domestic animals and wildlife, as well as noise, property devaluation and other concerns, the critics are seeking legal and other remedies to stop projects.
A group of residents along Grassy Ridge has filed a nuisance lawsuit to fight the development of a $150 million wind farm in Grant County, W.Va., by Nedpower to be operated by Shell Corp.
Jerome Burch, a resident of Mount Storm, said that he and six others have gotten together to file a suit.
“It was my understanding that they wouldn't be able to do any timbering or drilling until the suit was settled, but they are,” he said.
He said that he was notified recently that Nedpower had received its permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to continue the project so now the residents are contacting federal and state representatives in an effort to have a moratorium imposed on further development.
Burch said that he doesn't believe there has been enough study on the bird, bat and flying squirrel population to ensure the safety of the species from the turbine blades.
“The next concern I have is with noise caused by wind turbines,” Burch said. “The turbines make noise. I just recently ... heard the turbines over one mile away. They make noise louder than whispering in a room or a refrigerator running.”
Burch said that he has researched his concerns about wind turbines for more than two years and learned there are harmful side effects associated with them.
He said that Grassy Ridge Road, where the turbines would be located, is only 4.1 miles in length and that about 128 people in the area would be affected by the turbines, with some as close as 650 feet to homes.
Burch said that if it was up to him, if the project goes through as planned, he would put his property up for sale.
“But my wife loves this house, she won't go,” he said.
Burch said he is working with federal and state lawmakers in an effort to have a moratorium declared on further wind farm development in West Virginia, noting that there is already such a moratorium in Somerset County, Pa.
In Somerset, Pa., in December 2003, a citizens group, the Friends of the Appalachian Highlands, sent a notice of intent to sue FPL Energy, the operator of five wind farms in the state.
Karen Ervin, a Greenville Township resident and member of the group, said the organization's wider aims were to include tighter regulations on where and how wind power developers can build. Residents of the Meyersdale area who live near the FPL project there have joined with a concerned citizens group in upstate New York to fight a similar project there.
They appear on a DVD expressing that the noise from the turbines half a mile to a mile away disturbs their sleep and the light strobing from the turning turbine blades interferes with their concentration.
They also indicated that property had been devalued, citing two properties that were sold for considerably less than market value.
Two groups, Citizens for Responsible Windpower and Friends of the Blackwater, maintain Web sites with additional information on concerns relating to wind generation.
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West Virginia
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