Dan Hendrick, head of external affairs for Clearway’s eastern division, said the recent receipt of $128 million in financing for the Pinnacle farm work will allow the company to replace the 23 existing turbines with newer, more efficient ones. About $89 million of that money is for the construction, he said.

General West Virginia

Of the more than $200 million that will be invested for capital, Cornelius said, “We expect $52 million will be spent directly on payroll and services during the construction process, most of which is going to local contractors and businesses.” The project will have 23 turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

General West Virginia

"Specifically, while the plaintiffs are outside on their property, they are confronted with irritating and unabated audible noise which significantly limits the use and enjoyment of their property and results in annoyance, along with other symptoms..." one of the complaints states. The New Creek Mountain Sportsman's Club claims its members suffer from headaches, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, hearing problems and other issues while on the hunting lodge's property.

Impact on People Noise Legal West Virginia

Among the reasons the PSC, which regulates utilities in the state, cited in rejecting the deal were Appalachian’s lack of need for the farms, concerns regarding the farms’ long-term cost and West Virginia customers likely bearing more of that cost after Virginia regulators rejected the proposed deal.

General West Virginia

Beginning Nov. 1, 2016, and continuing on a daily basis, when the plaintiffs are outside on their properties, they are constantly confronted with irritating and unabated audible noise ...The plaintiffs claim inside their homes, they experience disturbed sleep, headaches, rapid heartbeat, anxiety, nervousness, joint pain, an inability to clear ears, fatigue, vertigo, depression, tinnitus, irritability and anger.

Impact on People Noise Legal West Virginia

Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, spoke in favor of the bill. He said when the Legislature created the tax break in 2001, it should have added a sunset clause. He added that other industries don’t receive as generous a break.

Taxes & Subsidies West Virginia

The Navy has backed out on plans to buy power from the new Mount Storm project in Grant and Tucker counties, raising new questions about the project’s viability.

General West Virginia

AES Laurel Mountain LLC was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Aloi after reaching a plea agreement ...The company was sentenced to pay the maximum fine of $15,000 for each of two misdemeanor counts of “unlawful taking” of migratory birds, a crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Impact on Birds Legal West Virginia

The filing contended the company failed in its legal obligation to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by not using “reasonable, prudent and effective measures to avoid or minimize the impact of lighting on migratory birds.”

Impact on Birds Legal West Virginia

A Fortune 500 Canadian energy company recently bought a long-delayed Grant County wind farm, paying $200 million for the project, which they hope will be up and running in a year. Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline and energy company, announced Wednesday that it bought the New Creek Wind Project and plans to have the 49-turbine farm in operation in December 2016.

General West Virginia

The American Legislative Exchange Council won a significant victory this week when West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) signed a law requiring legislative approval of the eventual plan the state submits to comply with U.S. EPA’s ambitious Clean Power Plan.

Energy Policy USA West Virginia

The first bill signed into law in this year’s regular legislative session repeals a current state law. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed House Bill 2001 Tuesday repealing the state’s Alternative Renewable Energy Portfolio Act.

Energy Policy West Virginia

A bill that would repeal a 2009 law that mandates utility companies get 25 percent of their production materials from sources other than coal by 2025 was passed by the West Virginia State Senate unanimously Wednesday, with debate only on an amendment to the bill.

Energy Policy West Virginia

The requirements were signed into law in 2009 when Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin was governor. The standard requires utilities serving at least 30,000 residential customers to generate 25 percent of their electricity with renewable or alternative power sources by 2025. City-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives are exempt.

Energy Policy West Virginia

A wind turbine that is a part of the NedPower Mount Storm wind project caught fire on Sunday afternoon (January 4, 2015).

Safety Structural Failure West Virginia

But, as states such as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas are discovering, there is no such thing as free electricity – in addition to the financial costs, there are political and environmental costs associated with even the most renewable sources. And politicians are beginning to see the truth that executives of renewable energy companies are just as invested in the success of their corporations as those who run coal companies. The struggle for that kind of power will go on no matter what source of energy the politicians back next.

General Oklahoma West Virginia

“Even if technology allows you to build enough renewable or have enough energy efficiency, it is at a cost,” Patton said. “What’s really important is that people realize that somebody has to pay for this, and in the case of our state, there’s a lot of people who really struggle paying for it.”

General West Virginia

An interesting debate on whether wind energy should continue to be deployed in the Appalachia area of the United States.

General North Carolina West Virginia

In a letter to Congress, one House committee calls for the end of wind subsidies. The Committee on Ways and Means wrote in a letter the urgency to "allow the wind production tax credit (PTC) to expire at the end of 2013 under current law and not to include an extension of the PTC in tax reform or tax extenders legislation."

Taxes & Subsidies USA West Virginia

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg, alleges low-frequency pulsations from the turbines, while always present, "are at times more severely debilitating, causing core pulsations. At times these symptoms are so intense that (potential buyers) cannot escape the adverse effects ... without leaving their property."

Legal West Virginia