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Community Energy says it is evaluating several Virginia sites
Community Energy says it is evaluating several Virginia sites
A company studying the possibility of building windmills on the slopes of Patrick County has identified itself as Community Energy Inc. of Wayne, Pa.
The company issued a news release Friday saying it is evaluating several areas in Virginia to determine if the winds are strong and constant enough to allow it to build electricity-generating wind turbines.
Patrick officials notified residents this month that they had been approached by an unnamed company interested in building a 20-turbine wind farm on either Bull Mountain or Belcher Mountain.
After residents began expressing concern that a wind farm might diminish the scenic beauty of the mountainous county, the Board of Supervisors passed an emergency moratorium on the construction of any …
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A company studying the possibility of building windmills on the slopes of Patrick County has identified itself as Community Energy Inc. of Wayne, Pa.
The company issued a news release Friday saying it is evaluating several areas in Virginia to determine if the winds are strong and constant enough to allow it to build electricity-generating wind turbines.
Patrick officials notified residents this month that they had been approached by an unnamed company interested in building a 20-turbine wind farm on either Bull Mountain or Belcher Mountain.
After residents began expressing concern that a wind farm might diminish the scenic beauty of the mountainous county, the Board of Supervisors passed an emergency moratorium on the construction of any structure taller than 100 feet. The 60-day moratorium, which exempts cell towers, is meant to give supervisors time to study wind turbines.
Matt Heck, wind-reserves manager for Community Energy, said the company has been measuring the wind in Patrick and talking with landowners for a year but has not made a decision to attempt to build the wind farm.
"Our initial studies in Patrick County look favorable," Heck said. "However, we still have a lot of work to do before we will know if a wind project is feasible."
According to the company's Web site, Community Energy recently completed construction of two wind farms: one in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and another in Atlantic City, N.J. The company, which has been operating wind farms since 1999, has more than 50,000 residential energy customers and has marketing arrangements with 18 private and public utilities.
Contact staff writer Rex Bowman at rbowman@timesdispatch.com or (540) 344-3612.