Anderson, Bluefield, Va. Town Manager Todd Day, and other officials traveled to the Mount Storm windmill site in hopes of learning more about a large-scale windmill proposal for East River Mountain. Several companies are looking to develop as many as 60, 400-foot tall windmills along the crest of East River Mountain.

The Tazewell County Board of Supervisors had a heated meeting on Tuesday night with a lot of hot topic items on the agenda. A lot of people at the meeting were there because of the controversial wind turbine talk. The board met with a consultant group behind closed doors in executive session.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission approved AES Laurel Mountain's certificate on Wednesday to construct a $250 million wind turbine electric generating facility of up to 65 wind turbines on an eight-mile stretch of the Laurel Mountain ridgeline between Barbour and Randolph counties. ...Scores of area residents have spoken out against the project saying it would mar the mountainous scenery and interfere with wildlife. Art and Pam Dodds said members of the Laurel Mountain Preservation Association are very disappointed in the decision of the WVPSC to grant the siting certificate.

West Virginia has OK'd a proposed $250 million wind farm along the Laurel Mountain ridgeline. The state Public Service Commission says AES Laurel Mountain has to establish a decommissioning fund, obtain additional permits and satisfy other conditions contained in the order approving construction that was issued Friday.

e West Virginia Public Service Commission is expected to reach a decision today on whether to grant AES' siting permit to construct up to 65 wind turbines on the Laurel Mountain ridge between Barbour and Randolph counties. ...The PSC has been considering all of the written evidence and testimony in order to arrive at a decision in the case. Today is the final day in the statutorily imposed 300-day process for the PSC to make a decision.

The process to determine if AES will be given permission to place a wind farm on a Laurel Mountain ridge between Randolph and Barbour counties is one step closer to being completed as the West Virginia Public Service Commission conducted evidentiary hearings Monday through Wednesday. "The attorneys representing both sides presented their cases and called witnesses," PSC spokesperson Sarah Robertson said. ...According to Robertson, the PSC expects to make a decision on Nov. 26.

The state Public Service Commission acted properly when it approved a proposal to build 124 giant wind-power turbines along 23 miles of Greenbrier County ridges, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Justices issued a unanimous, unsigned opinion that turned down challenges of the PSC decision filed by opponents of the $300 million Beech Ridge Energy LLC project. "We believe that the commission did not ignore or revise its rules, nor did the commission improperly interpret an unambiguous regulation," the court said in its 39-page ruling.

Wind farming or strip mining? Which energy extraction method should be used on Coal River Mountain? Residents of Clear Fork, Marsh Fork and other Raleigh County areas, with the support of environmental and community organizations such as Coal River Mountain Watch, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, asked the Raleigh County Commission Tuesday to support a proposed wind farm, which they say offers more long-term economic, social and environmental benefits to the county.

Elkins City Council chambers was packed Wednesday afternoon for a West Virginia Public Service Commission public hearing as people spoke for and against the AES proposed windfarm project on Laurel Mountain. The meeting started with Chris Callas, the attorney representing AES, and WVPSC Staff Lawyer Carrie DeHaven presenting opening statements. ...WVPSC Chairman Michael Albert then opened the public hearing portion of the meeting. Those for the project were matched about evenly against those against the project. Twenty-two people took the time to speak to the WVPSC - 10 spoke in favor of the project, 11 against the project and a representative from the Randolph County Airport Authority stated the authority was not for or against the project but wanted further investigation conducted to see how the project could affect the airport.

The Public Service Commission held a public hearing session Wednesday afternoon on plans to build wind turbines on Laurel Mountain in Randolph and Barbour counties. A lawyer representing AES Laurel Mountain gave a brief introduction before people on both sides of the issue addressed the crowd. AES plans to build about 65 wind turbines on Laurel Mountain.

Public hearings are scheduled for Wednesday in Randolph County and Barbour County for a proposed wind farm project. The proposal calls for up to 65 wind turbines to be built on an eight mile stretch of Laurel Mountain in the two counties. AES Laurel Mountain out of Arlington, Virginia is asking the State Public Service Commission for approval for the $250 million wholesale electric generating facility. If the company gets the needed approvals, the turbines could be in operation by the end of next year.

While concerns that wind turbines on Green Mountain will ruin the viewshed were the most voiced topic, area residents had an opportunity to consider a lot of information about the proposed project during an open house at the Wind Lea Conference Center Monday. ...Greg Trainor also voiced his concern about the view. "I love the mountain and I don't want to look up there and see 30 whirlygigs," he said, adding that the wind projects are just another way for the state to be taken. "We don't want to squander our view for a few dollars," he said, to which Clay added, "or 30 pieces of silver." Trainor said that West Virginia has a history of giving away its wealth.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has scheduled two public hearings on the proposed wind farm by AES for the Laurel Mountain ridgeline between Randolph and Barbour counties. ...‘‘The environmental community can't decide whether the green energy that is produced from windmills is more beneficial than the environmental damage that they cause with construction and the killing of bats and birds, etc.,'' [Sens. Clark] Barnes said. ‘‘The energy community is divided as to whether or not it's a viable source of energy. There is a lot of information - a tremendous amount of information on both sides - the pro and con for the environmental community and the pro and con for the energy community. One of the problems with wind energy is it does not create a constant source of energy being fed into the grid, so therefore at peak times, the hottest months of the year, there might not be any wind. It might not be stirring and there would be no benefit.''

Shenandoah Mountain is fit with high-quality breezes and a location near population centers, a necessary combination for wind farms such as the one being sought by a West Virginia firm, a wind expert said. ...Politicians will have their say, too, if the local project moves forward. Del. Todd Gil-bert, R-Woodstock, said his office would be making inquiries soon, but that more knowledge of wind energy is needed before he can form an opinion on it. "I'm one of the biggest proponents for trying to get off the dependence on oil," he said, "but the fact of the matter is, the most cost-efficient energy sources we have are traditional ones, not alternative ones."

Thursday evening, Elkins City Council formally voted against a proposed 125-Megawatt wind farm that would stretch across Laurel Mountain though Barbour and Randolph Counties. The vote will not play a direct role in determining the fate of the project. The West Virginia state Public Service Commission will have the final say on the issue, which will not be voted on for several months. None of the proposed wind turbines would be constructed in Elkins city limits. Residents attending Thursdays meeting say they support the council's opposition to the project.

Elkins City Council has set a special call meeting for 4 p.m. Thursday with plans of passing a resolution opposing the Laurel Mountain Wind Farm project proposed by AES. City officials said Tuesday that after checking with the West Virginia Ethics Commission, no public comment period will be required for the meeting. A resolution was on council’s March 4 agenda. However, that document was not prepared in time for a vote. During that meeting, West Virginia Green Energy Alliance representative Joel Martin gave an informational presentation which sparked more than two hours of discussion between his group and those opposed to the wind project.

Local governments in western Virginia are beginning to craft land-use regulations to give them tighter control over where wind turbines could be built, even as energy companies study the area's potential for large wind farms. Mountainous Bland and Bath counties are looking to develop ordinances governing wind turbines. Giles County, meanwhile, recently created a permit process that allows farmers and landowners to build and operate single turbines; but the permit process does not open the door wider for commercial wind farms. The permit process is similar to ones adopted by Pulaski and Rockingham counties. ...The prospect of more money did not persuade Patrick County officials to embrace wind farms. Last year, amid hue and cry from landowners after a Pennsylvania company's proposal to build 20 giant turbines several hundred feet high in Patrick, county supervisors adopted an ordinance banning structures of more than 100 feet high. The company dropped its proposal.

The debate over proposed windmills being placed in Randolph and Barbour counties came to the Elkins City Council meeting Thursday night. Although a proposed ordinance to express council's opposition to the AES' Laurel Mountain windmill farm project was on the agenda, council took no action. The resolution was not prepared for council to take a vote and a debate started within the crowd following a informational presentation by West Virginia Green Energy Alliance representative Joel Martin. "There has been a fairly focused campaign to distribute information that is not accurate," Martin said. "The project will not lead to a disaster on the mountains." ...Beckwith also asked Martin what affects the windmills would have on the ecology and environment. "I cannot guarantee that there will be no destruction," Martin responded.

The possibility of windmills being erected along the Randolph and Barbour County line could begin as early as 2009, if the application is approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission, a spokesperson for AES said. Many groups, however, have been voicing opposition to the project, and most recently, Elkins City Council has decided to look at how the windmills may effect the local economy and future plans for development.