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ABOUT 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians figured out how to use the wind to move their ships. Later the Persians first harnessed the power of the wind to turn a piece of machinery.
ABOUT 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians figured out how to use the wind to move their ships. Later the Persians first harnessed the power of the wind to turn a piece of machinery.
Holland used the same principle to pump water away from the land. In this country, we used wind power to grind grain and pump water.
Civilization, however, moved away from wind power whenever a more reliable source came along. Oil, coal and hydroelectricity relegated the farmer’s windmill to a rusted relic.
Wind is making a comeback, but the question now — in West Virginia and other parts of the country where the wind sweeps across ridges or in from the sea — is whether we want it back.
Today, the state Public Service Commission was to hold two hearings at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County on a proposal by Beach Ridge Energy to build 124 windmills along a ridge north of U.S. 60 along the Greenbrier-Nicholas line.
The company says the …
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Civilization, however, moved away from wind power whenever a more reliable source came along. Oil, coal and hydroelectricity relegated the farmer’s windmill to a rusted relic.
Wind is making a comeback, but the question now — in West Virginia and other parts of the country where the wind sweeps across ridges or in from the sea — is whether we want it back.
Today, the state Public Service Commission was to hold two hearings at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County on a proposal by Beach Ridge Energy to build 124 windmills along a ridge north of U.S. 60 along the Greenbrier-Nicholas line.
The company says the …
Holland used the same principle to pump water away from the land. In this country, we used wind power to grind grain and pump water.
Civilization, however, moved away from wind power whenever a more reliable source came along. Oil, coal and hydroelectricity relegated the farmer’s windmill to a rusted relic.
Wind is making a comeback, but the question now — in West Virginia and other parts of the country where the wind sweeps across ridges or in from the sea — is whether we want it back.
Today, the state Public Service Commission was to hold two hearings at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County on a proposal by Beach Ridge Energy to build 124 windmills along a ridge north of U.S. 60 along the Greenbrier-Nicholas line.
The company says the wind farm will provide clean generation of electricity and create jobs. The state Building and Construction Trades Council has already announced its support of the project, saying it will create about 200 union construction jobs.
But many people who live in Greenbrier County or near where the wind towers will be built are not happy. The group Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy says the windmills will be an eyesore.
Each one, the group says, will look like a 40-story building on top of the mountain.
Opponents elsewhere around the country have raised similar concerns. Opponents of wind farms in Pennsylvania and New York have produced a DVD where residents who live near the giant windmills complain about their size, the noise, the declining property values and even the flickering shadows created by the turbines spinning in the sun.
The interest in wind comes at a time when America is again interested in alternative fuels thanks to unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices. But wind power remains one of the least-used alternatives.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, only 6 percent of all energy consumed in this country in 2004 came from renewable sources, mostly hydroelectricity and biomass. Wind power is just a small fraction of that — 2 percent of the 6 percent.
That’s primarily because the shortcomings of wind energy are the same now as they were 5,000 years ago. It takes a lot of wind to produce a little power and when the wind’s not blowing, nothing’s happening.
But the advocates push ahead. One reason is the substantial tax credits offered by the government. Greenbrier County Republican Sen. Jesse Guills, who objects to the Beach Ridge project, told the Charleston Gazette in February: “There’s a huge (federal) tax credit in these things and that bothers me.”
West Virginia already has one wind farm. A Florida company owns 44 turbines in Tucker County. Another company plans 89 turbines for Grant County. The Global Wind Energy Council says electricity output from wind farms grew 27 percent in this country last year.
So West Virginia needs to decide whether the advocates of ridge-top wind farms in West Virginia have at least a partial solution to the nation’s energy needs or whether they are just blowing a lot of hot air.
Today’s public hearings in Greenbrier County mark an important step in the debate.
Civilization, however, moved away from wind power whenever a more reliable source came along. Oil, coal and hydroelectricity relegated the farmer’s windmill to a rusted relic.
Wind is making a comeback, but the question now — in West Virginia and other parts of the country where the wind sweeps across ridges or in from the sea — is whether we want it back.
Today, the state Public Service Commission was to hold two hearings at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County on a proposal by Beach Ridge Energy to build 124 windmills along a ridge north of U.S. 60 along the Greenbrier-Nicholas line.
The company says the wind farm will provide clean generation of electricity and create jobs. The state Building and Construction Trades Council has already announced its support of the project, saying it will create about 200 union construction jobs.
But many people who live in Greenbrier County or near where the wind towers will be built are not happy. The group Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy says the windmills will be an eyesore.
Each one, the group says, will look like a 40-story building on top of the mountain.
Opponents elsewhere around the country have raised similar concerns. Opponents of wind farms in Pennsylvania and New York have produced a DVD where residents who live near the giant windmills complain about their size, the noise, the declining property values and even the flickering shadows created by the turbines spinning in the sun.
The interest in wind comes at a time when America is again interested in alternative fuels thanks to unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices. But wind power remains one of the least-used alternatives.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, only 6 percent of all energy consumed in this country in 2004 came from renewable sources, mostly hydroelectricity and biomass. Wind power is just a small fraction of that — 2 percent of the 6 percent.
That’s primarily because the shortcomings of wind energy are the same now as they were 5,000 years ago. It takes a lot of wind to produce a little power and when the wind’s not blowing, nothing’s happening.
But the advocates push ahead. One reason is the substantial tax credits offered by the government. Greenbrier County Republican Sen. Jesse Guills, who objects to the Beach Ridge project, told the Charleston Gazette in February: “There’s a huge (federal) tax credit in these things and that bothers me.”
West Virginia already has one wind farm. A Florida company owns 44 turbines in Tucker County. Another company plans 89 turbines for Grant County. The Global Wind Energy Council says electricity output from wind farms grew 27 percent in this country last year.
So West Virginia needs to decide whether the advocates of ridge-top wind farms in West Virginia have at least a partial solution to the nation’s energy needs or whether they are just blowing a lot of hot air.
Today’s public hearings in Greenbrier County mark an important step in the debate.
Kercheval is host of TalkLine, broadcast by the MetroNews Statewide Radio Network from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. The show can be heard locally on WCHS 580 AM.