KEYSER - US WindForce will conduct the regular month meeting of its Community Advisory Panel Thursday night at the WindLea Banquet Center, with a state energy official to address the group on the eve of the West Virginia Public Service Commission's hearing on the proposed 23-turbine wind farm.

Bill Willis, a program coordinator with the West Virginia Division of Energy, will be the guest speaker for the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. WindForce officials said Willis will be speaking about the state's approach to wind as an energy resource.

US WindForce has been holding Community Advisory Panel meetings since early 2008 as a way to gauge public reaction to the proposed Pinnacle Wind Form, and to help the company respond to concerns about the project. The meetings are open to the public.

After several years of research and preliminary development, the Pinnacle project is nearing the end of what will be a nearly year-long review by the PSC. A decision on the permit application is due by early January. If approved, WindForce officials expect to begin construction in the spring, with completion by the end of 2010.

As part of its review, the PSC will be in Keyser on Thursday, Sept. 24 to conduct two public hearings on Pinnacle - one at 2 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m.. Both meetings will be held in the Mineral County Courthouse.

Residents will be given the opportunity to provide both verbal and written comments on the project.

The day after the hearing, the three PSC members, together with staff, WindForce officials and both proponents and opponents who have registered as interested parties, will tour the project site.

A formal evidentiary hearing on the Pinnacle project will be held in Charleston in October.

Pinnacle Wind Farm is a $131 million project that will erect 23 400-foot wind turbines atop Green Mountain, immediately west of Keyser. The project is being developed in cooperation with NewPage, which operates the paper mill in Luke and had extensive land holdings in the area.

Opposition to the Pinnacle project is being spearheaded by the Allegheny Front Alliance, which has registered as an interested party with the PSC.