Although the official public hearing was delayed until January, area residents still spoke out Tuesday over the controversial topic of wind turbines. "How are we guaranteed that so many jobs will be created?" Mark Tyson of Tazewell, said. "We have to take the word of BP and Dominion - the same people who funded 50 percent of this study." "As far as this study is concerned, I know it is an economic impact study, but I pray there will be other studies you all will look at other than economics," Donna Kelly of Bluefield, Va., said. "It's not all just about money. I feel a few will profit from this but the majority will suffer."

The long-awaited wind energy study compiled by Springsted Inc., was released on Monday. While it didn't include a lot of surprises, it did come with plenty of statistics, projections and hypothetical scenarios related to wind turbine farms. ...While it doesn't provide a lot of new details, the Springsted study still provides a lot of information for folks to digest. The official public hearing on the proposed mountain construction ordinance, also known as the mountain ridge protection ordinance, will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6:15 p.m. or soon thereafter at Tazewell High School.

A proposed wind turbine farm for East River Mountain would provide $9.2 million in new revenue to Tazewell County over a 20 year period, according to the findings of a new wind energy economic impact study. The study, which was made public Monday through the county's website, will be discussed in detail at tonight's Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Tazewell Middle School with a wind turbine discussion scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Tazewell County leaders will tackle the controversial topic of wind turbines Tuesday during the first of two meetings that could determine the fate of a controversial East River Mountain project. The board meets Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Tazewell Middle School, and will begin the wind turbine discussion at 7:30 p.m. At that time, John Anzivion, senior vice president of the Springsted Company, is scheduled to present the results of a wind turbine economic impact study to the board.

The newly elected members of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors say they haven't made a decision yet when it comes to wind turbines on East River Mountain. "I'm going to have to research that a little bit better," John Absher, who defeated incumbent Bill Wimmer for the Western District board seat, said when asked about wind turbines. "I haven't made a decision on that one way or another. We are just going to have to talk about the pros and cons of it." Although the wind turbine project is not planned in his district, Absher said he has still had several questions from residents.

A hearing scheduled for November 10 at the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) regarding the Tamarack Ridge wind energy project has been postponed by request of the Virginia Department of Historical Resources (DHR). ...DHR requested the continuance until it has received the requested information from the Parks Service and had time to "review, analyze and consult with Highland New Wind about these reports."

As Virginia wrangles over the visual impact of 400-foot towers on nearby historic properties, a similar situation in West Virginia resulted in a $10,000 grant offer from a wind energy company building 23 wind turbines overlooking some 18 historic places in Mineral County. Not everyone agrees it's an appropriate solution, but Pinnacle Wind Force LLC offered to make that amount available for historic preservation efforts after the West Virginia Division of Culture and History (the State Historic Preservation Office) found its wind project would have an adverse impact on historic resources nearby.

West Virginia boundary commission members Charles Sypolt and Curt Keplinger visited Tamarack Ridge Saturday morning to inspect the site of a proposed industrial wind farm. ...Governor Manchin formed the boundary commission in September after the Pocahontas County Commission alerted him that the wind project might encroach into West Virginia territory. The county commission became concerned after the developer, Highland New Wind Development, LLC (HNWD), issued a site plan with the state line re-plotted on the base topographic map and two turbines very close to the re-plotted state line.

Opponents of a Mineral County wind farm project maintain it will have little impact on the power grid and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Testimony began Monday in a West Virginia Public Service Commission evidentiary hearing on the Pinnacle Wind Force project. Plans are to build 23 wind turbines on top of Green Mountain near Mount Storm. Attorney Bradley Stephens, representing the opponents, questioned US Wind Force Vice President David Friend during Monday's proceedings.

A controversial wind farm project in Mineral County goes before the state Public Service Commission starting Monday. The PSC will hear evidence from Pinnacle Wind Force, the group hoping to build 23 wind turbines on top of Green Mountain near Mt. Storm.

Attorneys for the developers of a West Virginia wind farm questioned all but their last witness in a trial over whether the project will harm an endangered bat. The defense witnesses said Friday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt that netting has not captured any Indiana bats and disputed audio recordings that witnesses for the plaintiffs say show the endangered bats are at the site.

Workers atop mountain ridges are putting together 389-foot windmills with massive blades that will turn Appalachian breezes into energy. Retiree David Cowan is fighting to stop them. Because of the bats. ...It is the first court challenge to wind power under the Endangered Species Act, lawyers on both sides say. With President Obama's goal of doubling renewable energy production by 2012, wind and solar farms are rapidly expanding. As they do, battles are being waged to reach the right balance between the benefits of clean energy and the impact on birds, bats and even the water supply.

A proposed West Virginia wind power project will harm a tiny, endangered bat and its developers should be should be required to obtain permits under the Endangered Species Act, attorneys for two environmental groups argued Wednesday in federal court. The developers admit bats will be killed by the turbines, but refuse to acknowledge the endangered Indiana bat will be among them, plaintiffs attorney Eric Glitzenstein argued in his opening statements.

The 124-turbine wind farm being built by Rockville-based Beech Ridge Energy would put the lives of endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, in danger, according to the plaintiffs -- The Animal Welfare Institute, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and David G. Cowan. Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

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.

Late last Friday, before a hearing scheduled for Tuesday this week, Highland New Wind Development submitted further analysis of its wind project to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The hearing was set by the State Corporation Commission following a complaint from DHR that a condition attached to HNWD's state permit for Virginia's first wind utility were not being met. DHR said it believed the SCC's condition to "coordinate with DHR for guidance regarding the potential need for archaeological and architectural surveys, recommended studies and field surveys to evaluate the project's impacts to historic resources," had meaning, and that HNWD was not coordinating with the agency as ordered.

The Mineral County Commission moved Tuesday to go on record in support of the proposed Pinnacle Wind Farm. The support, however, is not unanimous. After going into executive session to discuss "legal matters," which they later said related to the proposed contract in which WindForce will agree to commit itself to a "floor" for tax revenue to be generated by the project, two of the commissioners said they felt it was time for the county to commit to a position.

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.

The SCC had scheduled the hearing on a complaint from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which had accused Highland New Wind Development of failing to consult with it on how the wind farm will affect the nearby Camp Allegheny battlefield. But on Friday, Highland New Wind provided two preliminary studies to the Department of Historic Resources, according to a motion filed with the SCC late in the day.

Albemarle County Planning Commission members sent a clear message Tuesday: The county should allow wind turbines. Turbines are prohibited in Albemarle, but the Planning Commission unanimously approved a resolution calling for the county to allow small power-generating wind turbines. However, some specifics about where turbines should be allowed and what restrictions should be established were left up in the air.