Several additional companies have inquired about the possibility of building windmills in Tazewell County, officials confirmed Monday. Although Dominion and BP Wind Energy North America are planning a large-scale wind turbine farm for East River Mountain near Bluefield, other areas of interest for other wind energy companies have included Morris Knob, near Tazewell, and Burkes Garden, according to Board of Supervisors Chairman David Anderson.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has rescheduled a hearing to determine whether a wind energy company has complied with pre-construction conditions regarding protection of historic resources. The hearing, originally scheduled for October 12, will be held on November 11 at 10 a.m. The hearing will be available as a webcast from the SCC website. The Virginia Attorney General's Office, representing DHR, filed a motion on October 9 to reschedule the hearing, which was granted by hearing examiner Alexander Skirpan.

A long-awaited wind energy economic impact study for Tazewell County could be ready as early as next week. ...Following a five-minute recess in Tuesday's meeting, [County Administrator Jim] Spencer told media representatives that he was told by Springsted officials on the telephone that the wind energy study wouldn't be finished until mid-October.

The developers of a proposed large-scale wind turbine farm for Tazewell County have been quietly making progress high atop East River Mountain. A meteorological tower to study wind speed and direction has been erected on the mountain. A number of geo-technical studies, along with wildlife and avian studies, also are continuing at the Tazewell County site, Ryan Frazier, a senior communications specialist with Dominion Energy, said.

As Highland New Wind Development pushes to get roads installed and fields leveled for foundations, efforts to build its 38-megawatt wind-generating utility here aren't proceeding smoothly. Obstacles abound, in the form of legal challenges, allegations of not meeting state requirements, and an Erosion and Sediment control plan state officials have found lacking. All of that is coupled with an ongoing assertion from West Virginia officials who say Virginia, and Highland County, had no right to approve a facility that crosses state lines.

Protecting Laurel Fork and its watershed has been a top priority for landowners near where 19 towers are under construction on Allegheny Mountain. This week, that appears to be also true for the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation, which is assisting Highland officials in getting Highland New Wind Development to comply with Erosion and Sediment control regulations.

The chairman of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors is expressing frustration over repeated delays in a decision regarding a large-scale wind turbine farm for East River Mountain. Anderson made another motion late Tuesday night to proceed with a public hearing on a revised ridgeline protection ordinance. His motion died for a lack of a second. His fellow board members said they wanted to wait until an ongoing wind energy economic impact study was completed.

Members of the Citizens for Environmental Independence urged the county Board of Supervisors to approve a large-scale wind turbine project for East River Mountain, and School Superintendent Dr. Brenda Lawson asked the board Tuesday for permission to use $1.4 million in remaining “soft cost funds” for meeting the remaining financial obligations for heating and air upgrades at five elementary schools.

As a 19-tower wind turbine project nears the construction stage in Highland County, Va., just across the state line from Pocahontas County, it faces a whirlwind of objections from both sides of the border -- including a dispute about just where the border lies. The project also has drawn fire from Civil War battlefield preservation groups for the negative effects the wind farm would have on West Virginia's Camp Allegheny.

It's possible, says one state agency, that rare and endangered species and habitats exist on or near the 220 acres where Highland New Wind Development is building an industrial wind utility. Monday, project review coordinator Rene Hypes, of the Division of Natural Heritage, Department of Conservation and Recreation, sent a letter to the State Corporation Commission attorney Wayne Smith saying her agencies special ecologists should survey the project area to help the developer avoid damaging rare species.

The Pocahontas County Commission voted Tuesday to engage an attorney to help determine where the West Virginia-Virginia State line is on Tamarack Ridge of Allegheny Mountain. The dispute arose after Highland New Wind Development. LLC, released its site plan for more than 15 wind turbines to be built on the ridge, two of which could be on or very close to the West Virginia side of the line. Those wind turbines and possibly others will be visible from Camp Allegheny, a pristine Civil War site.

Concerned citizens of Pocahontas County and a resident of Virginia brought the issue of the Highland County wind turbine project intruding on the viewshed of Camp Allegheny in Bartow to the county commission's attention at Thursday's meeting. Virginia resident Dan Foster said his main concern is for Camp Allegheny and preserving the history of the battlefield, where the turbines will be visible from almost every angle.

The chairman of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors is wanting to see an ongoing wind energy economic impact study completed by September to help expedite a decision on a large-scale wind turbine project proposed for East River Mountain. "I would like to see it ready by our September meeting," David Anderson, who represents the county's Eastern District, said.

West Virginia might have something to say about Mac McBride's plans for a wind energy utility in Highland County after all. Thursday, Highland resident Dan Foster was invited to speak to Pocahontas County Commissioners, addressing his concerns for Highland New Wind Development's project impacts on Camp Allegheny - the Civil War battlefield site is in Pocahontas ...This week, Foster said Pocahontas officials shared his concerns for the landmark battlefield, and intended to write to McBride, HNWD owner, and agency officials in both states.

Though Highland New Wind Development has asked the county to issue it a building permit by July 15, there is work left to be done. HNWD, as required by the State Corporation Commission, compiled a list of what it believes are the environmental and other approvals and permits needed for its project - a total of eight. Some of these have a subset of conditions or requirements as well.

It's been seven years since Highland County heard about plans for a wind energy utility here, and Friday, things hit a major turning point. Highland New Wind Development submitted a site plan, and things are moving in earnest on several fronts in anticipation of securing a date for construction. ...Whether HNWD has met all the conditions attached to county and state permits will be determined by a Technical Review Committee appointed by the board of supervisors;

The source of the reported information is the developer's public relations spokesman, Frank Maisano, who announced in a press release that the company has filed a site plan, which he characterized as the last step in obtaining a building permit. The newspapers in question simply repeated the company's public relations material on the controversial project.

The fate of a proposed wind turbine project for East River Mountain is now back in the hands of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors. After several weeks of review by members of the county's Planning Commission, the commission voted 3-2 Thursday to forward a proposed ridgeline protection ordinance back to the supervisors.

Saying he is not interested in a repeat of a "sales pitch," Mineral County President Wayne Spiggle is spelling out four specific issues which he wants representatives of U.S. Wind Force to answer when they meet with the commissioners on June 23.

The Allegany County commissioners have postponed Thursday's public work session discussion that was to focus on the proposed restrictions to industrial wind farms. The public meeting is now scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the County Office Complex. The commissioners, acting County Administrator David Eberly and County Attorney Bill Rudd are to analyze a number of points made by US Wind Force President Tom Matthews.