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.

A representative from AES provided the Barbour County Commission with an updated timeline for the wind turbine project and requested commissioners pass a resolution to appoint a company to conduct a decommission study to determine the cost to take the windmills down when the time comes.

Nearly 100 people attended West Virginia Public Service Commission's hearing on the Pinnacle Wind Farm, Thursday afternoon at the Mineral County Courthouse, with all but one of more than two dozen speakers backing the project for its economic impact, clean energy and even visual appeal. ...The deadline for a decision on the project is Jan. 11. If approved, WindForce officials hope to have the wind farm operational by the end of 2010.

Raleigh County commissioners interrupted their regular meeting Tuesday to host a public information hearing regarding a proposed Pluto wind farm. ...Although a property in Pluto owned by Earl Long has been identified as one possible spot for a wind farm known as Angel Winds, Jobs Project Director Eric Mathis was quick to point out the project was not currently "moving forward."

A proposed wind farm gets some countywide attention. Tuesday the Raleigh County Commission hosted a public hearing as a way to educate community members. Earl Long and his family want to install several wind turbines on their land in Pluto, but there are regulatory hoops to get through. It could take three years before anything happens.

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.

It's full steam ahead for a wind farm project in Greenbrier County. The state supreme court voted today to reject an appeal by Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy.

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.

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.

Where is the state line? Pocahontas officials would like to know. The Pocahontas County Commission met Thursday and in an occasionally heated discussion, agreed Highland New Wind Development's planned wind energy utility in Highland County, Va., might be infringing on West Virginia property. The commissioners decided to talk about it again Tuesday, when they will vote on whether to take legal action to settle the matter.

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.

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.

With support for the proposed Pinnacle Wind Farm growing - at least as measured by the volume of letters sent to the West Virginia Public Service Commission - the PSC has established the time and place for the fall hearing on the proposed 23-turbine wind farm just west of Keyser.

Allegheny Energy and local lawmakers are split over whether a new electrical line is the right way to address the country's increased need for power. The company has plans to build a new 765-kilovolt line called the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline. The project is expected to span through parts of West Virginia, including Jefferson County, on its way to Maryland.

As the Pinnacle wind farm project continues with the state Public Service Commission process, so do plans for the Community Benefits Fund, a $50,000 annual contribution from US Wind Force to the community for the lifetime of the project.

Finally face-to-face, the Mineral County Commissioners questioned representatives of U.S. Wind Force Tuesday evening, sticking to the topics that would directly affect the county and its residents. At the top of the question list was the subject of taxes, and how much the company expects to pay into the county once the 23 wind turbines are in place on Green Mountain.

The Mineral County Commissioners got their first chance to sit down one-on-one with representatives of US Wind Force to discuss issues of concern and clarify rumors. The meeting included wind power companies trying to request exemption from the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) as a public utility.

The Mineral County Commissioners are hoping to have some questions answered this evening, as they meet with representatives of U.S. Wind Force. The meeting with Wind Force, the company proposing to construct the Pinnacle Wind Farm on Green Mountain above Keyser, was the topic of discussion at the commission's June 9 meeting, when Commission President Wayne Spiggle said he wanted to meet with the group but was not interested in a "sales pitch."