Spiggle: Wind energy ‘doesn't reduce greenhouse gases'

CUMBERLAND - Wayne Spiggle is like many people who feel that harnessing the wind's energy to generate electricity is "a good thing."

"But when you realize that to do that changes the character of our traditional, natural landscape, most people want to know that it's worthwhile to sacrifice that," said Spiggle, president of the Mineral County (W.Va.) Commission.

Spiggle said an apparent lack of investors and a low efficiency rating combine to compel him to question the viability of industrial wind energy facilities. He commented on the issue after he was told the relationship between Mineral County government and U.S. Wind Force was discussed during a public hearing conducted last week by the Allegany County commissioners.

"Here's a pretty persuasive argument," Spiggle said. "Wind electricity doesn't reduce greenhouse gases - which is, for me, the definition of green energy."

U.S. Wind Force has proposed a 23-turbine facility atop Green Mountain near Jennings Randolph Lake and Keyser. Spiggle said he realizes his position is certainly not the only one possible.

"There are a lot of people I really respect who have no problems at all with them (wind turbines)," Spiggle said, but "there are a significant part of my constituency who have genuine concerns."

Spiggle said an even larger number of people don't understand that when a wind energy company states a project will supply energy to a certain number of homes - the Dan's Mountain project in Allegany County is billed as supporting 13,000 homes - that it's based on a 100-percent efficiency rating.

The most modern turbines, he said, operate closer to 13 percent efficiency.

Because of the fluctuating low efficiencies, you have to maintain a head of steam in order to compensate for the waning of available wind turbine electricity, he said.

Accommodating that head of steam uses fossil fuels - exactly what alternative energy industry experts insist they're striving to replace.

Highlighting his concern, Spiggle wrote a letter to his counterparts in Allegany County last week saying that up to 60 percent of Mineral County residents are either "skeptical or even outraged over the industrialization of our ridge-top horizons."

"When the man on the street in my county learns about the low efficiency and the minimal - some say none - reduction of greenhouse gases associated with wind power, that skepticism grows," Spiggle wrote.

Spiggle didn't comment specifically on the zoning code amendments being considered in Allegany County. However, he appeared to support restrictions that would "demonstrate that protection of the public is compatible with their business plan."

"Promises have been made to both of our counties that we will receive substantial tax revenue from these two projects," Spiggle told Commissioners Jim Stakem, Bob Hutcheson and Dale Lewis. "I think that you and we should convert those promises to contractual arrangements that are binding on future owners. In addition, this may be our only opportunity to forge contractual relationships that ensure that the public sector will not be faced with the cost of taking the turbines down after they have served their rather short life span."

Spiggle said the short-term construction boom that would immediately follow an approved project - followed by a long-term lack of permanent, full-time jobs - isn't a positive.

"Boom-and-bust employment has never proved to be in the long-term best interest of any community," Spiggle said. "I wish Mineral County had Code Home Rule so that we, too, could have the opportunity and responsibility to forge a regulatory infrastructure to protect the public in this matter."