Appalachian Power Co. customers may soon be able to write a larger check for the monthly bill to support the generation of electricity with wind, water and other renewable sources. The utility said the minimum investment will be $1.50 a month. A typical residential customer could elect to fully offset his electrical consumption with green energy by paying about $15 monthly.

Highlanders for Responsible Development remains committed to its watchdog role involving the Highland New Wind Development industrial wind facility, says HRD president Randy Richardson. "We remain concerned, we are not disappearing, we are going to keep an eye on it." Formed in August 2005 largely in response to the proposed wind turbine project, the non-profit organization continues to meet monthly and monitor wind-energy activity.

After reviewing thousands of pages of testimony and comments from numerous public hearings, Judges Mark A. Hoyer and Michael A. Nemec in a 364-page document said Allegheny Energy, through its transmission line subsidiary TrAILCo had "failed to carry the burden of truth" for the entire 240-mile project. "Based on our review of the entire record, we have concluded that little or no need for reinforcement in the Prexy service area presently exists," the judges wrote.

Miles of mountain ridges hugging the state's western border could hold the key to Virginia's search for alternative energy sources. That is where developers are looking to build more than 100 wind turbines taller than the Statue of Liberty, side by side, on 18 miles of the George Washington National Forest. ...But the new push for wind energy in Virginia has highlighted a conflict within the environmental community. Some groups, which have long clamored for more renewable energy sources and encouraged wind power instead of a new coal-burning power plant in southwest Virginia, oppose the FreedomWorks project, the largest wind proposal in the state, because of the potential harm to plants and animals. "We are strong advocates for renewable energy and wind energy," said Glen Besa, director of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club. "But we would like to see it developed responsibly."

They're up and they're spinning. Dozens of wind turbines in Grant County are generating electricity, though they haven't been without problems. Crossing into Virginia, there's a proposal for about 130 wind turbines to be built in the George Washington National Forest, as well as a much smaller operation in Highland County. However, these projects haven't developed without some strong opposition. The process takes years. Now, phase one is almost complete, 80 turbines are spinning in Mount Storm, West Virginia. Still, some local homeowners, like Bruce Halgren, are challenging the project in court.

Fossil fuels such as coal and oil are costly for consumers and the environment. Efforts are being made in Virginia to look into alternative sources of power, but it's not a breeze. Dr. Paxton Marshall, a professor of electrical engineering at UVA says wind may not be the most practical option in Virginia. "We don't have a continuous, strong, steady wind in most of Virginia. The exceptions are offshore or on the shore line in the chesepeake area." Marshall says the best option for offshore wind power in Virginia is in the Virginia Beach area.

Highland New Wind Development cannot yet offer Highland County a site plan for specific plans on the proposed industrial wind facility because the company is still negotiating with potential investors for the project. John Flora, lawyer for HNWD, provided an update to the Highland County Board of Supervisors this past Tuesday. ..."All I can say is that we are talking to folks from Europe, people on the West Coast and people in the East, and we are still working hard on narrowing the field and I am still pretty confident we will have something for you at your August meeting, but I said the last time I was here we hoped to have it tonight, and we don't."

Wind can be strong or weak, consistent or unreliable, sufficient to support wind generation or not. It all depends on location. Local support for wind can also be strong or weak, consistent or unreliable, sufficient or insufficient to support wind generation. It, too, depends on location. About 200 people from across Virginia converged at JMU for the second annual VWEC symposium on wind energy and their interest in the industry was about the only thing they had in common. Most, but not all, supported wind power development. And not all those in favor were willing to accept wind energy unconditionally.

People in Shenandoah County had the opportunity to hear both sides of the wind turbine debate Tuesday night at a public forum. They turned out to learn more about what potential impacts, good and bad, the turbines would have. Impacts to land, wildlife, and the local economy are just a few of the considerations. ... After about two hours, people left with much to consider. "Both of them brought up good points," says Kelley. "And, it's just something that I think is going to take some time to absorb everything."

A community forum on the pros and cons of wind turbines along the Virginia-West Virginia border will be held tonight at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School in Woodstock. ...The discussion was triggered in March by a proposal by FreedomWorks LLC, a renewable-energy firm from Harpers Ferry, W.Va., to study the impact of constructing 130 440-foot wind turbines in George Washington National Forest, said Rosemary Wallinger, chairman of the Forum. Freedom Works requested the Federal Aviation Administration look into the plan. The FAA is one of the regulatory bodies involved in wind farm proposals. The proposal also would need the approval of the U.S. Forest Service.

When the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) issued a permit for the proposed Highland New Wind project in December 2007 it imposed stringent wildlife protection conditions and requirements for further review. The developer asserted that potential investors would lose interest because of the precedent-setting requirements to monitor and mitigate impacts to birds and bats. ... Now it appears that the project faces additional uncertainty as some of the agencies responsible for further review seem unclear about their respective roles in the continuing process.

Highland New Wind Development is stepping up its search for investors, with plans to attend some regional conferences and meetings with potential backers in the next couple of months. HNWD will need financial support for its proposed 39-megawatt wind energy utility, expected to cost upwards of $60 million to construct. The company also needs to secure several permits and other state and federal approvals before it can build.

Apparently hoping that a proposed agreement between the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission and Allegheny Energy would put a better face on the utility's proposed Trans-Allegheny Interstate Power Line project, the Hampshire County Commission received an e-mail request to reverse its opposition to the project. Commissioners Don Cookman, Steve Slonaker and Robert Hott, however, all agreed that would not happen.

Highland New Wind Development is making some progress in meeting permit conditions to build Virginia's first wind energy utility, but according to state officials, there's no state coordination for the process under one agency. In the last couple of months, Highland supervisor David Blanchard has pressed HNWD owner H.T. "Mac" McBride for more information on exactly what conditions it must meet, and with which agencies. McBride, thus far, has not provided those details to the county board. There are a number of permits the company needs, plus several other steps HNWD must take to meet requirements set forth by Highland County and the State Corporation Commission. Those include getting approvals for things as recommended by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Two of the nation's largest energy companies have announced they will jointly develop wind farms in Virginia. ...So now the question to ask is are these companies considering coming to the Valley for these farms? A spokesperson says there's a good chance that a wind farm could be developed in the Valley because of the strength and consistency of the wind here. However, some say wind energy isn't the answer. Rick Webb, a Senior Scientist with the Department of Environmental Sciences at UVA, says, "I don't believe that wind turbine development on Appalachian ridges will make a serious contribution to solving our energy needs."

The 131 turbines, each 440 feet tall, would cover 18 miles of ridgecrest, according to private consultant D. Daniel Boone, a conservation biologist and policy analyst. Ninety turbines would be located in Virginia with the other 41 in Hardy County, according to Boone. Boone prepared a map stipulating each turbine based upon the coordinates provided in the 7460-1 applications filed with the Federal Aviation Agency by an unknown developer. "Each wind turbine has a separate 7460-1 application filed with FAA," Boone said.

But the fact that interest is out there for such a project is a sign of things to come, said Rick Webb, operator of www.vawind.org and a senior scientist with the environmental sciences department at the University of Virginia. "This is probably the tip of the iceberg," he said. Eighteen miles of national forest ridgeline, most of which is on Shenandoah Mountain, stands to be affected by the proposal, Webb said. "It's industrializing our national forest," he said. "The question is whether it's worth the trade-off. In my conclusion, it is not. The electricity produced is just a drop in the bucket."

Proposals for wind farms in the Valley are whipping up opposing viewpoints about the structures' effects on wildlife, local vistas and energy production. Opponents say the turbines, each hundreds of feet tall, would mar the local landscape and endanger bats and birds, some of which are federally protected. But proponents say the farms can be built with minimum impact on the environment to offer clean, alternative energy and a break from the nation's dependency on foreign oil. ...After studying maps and coordinates provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, consultant D. Daniel Boone, a conservation biologist and policy analyst, said the FreedomWorks' project could negatively affect untouched areas of the George Washington National Forest. "Other than a power line and one small road which crosses between Hardy and Shenandoah counties, the project area is completely undisturbed forest with no sign of logging roads or clear-cuts," Boone stated.

An unnamed company has started the application process to build 131 of the massive wind turbines in the national forest in Rockingham County and along the border between Virginia's Shenandoah County and Hardy County in West Virginia. "We're in the pre-application stage" with the company proposing to build the turbines, Chris Rose, a spokesman for the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, said Monday. Rose declined to name the company, citing its early application status, which allows the federal agency to keep the name confidential.

Both county and state permits have been granted to Highland New Wind Development for Virginia's first industrial wind utility, but there seems to be some confusion about what happens next. Part of the trouble stems from determining exactly what the company needs to do in order to proceed with construction. There are a number of permits it needs, but there are several other steps HNWD must take to meet requirements set forth by Highland County and the State Corporation Commission. Those include getting approvals on a number of things as recommended by the state Department of Environmental Quality. And some of those will apparently be tough to get without a final site plan of the project.