Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
West Virginia wind farm construction completed
Credit: by The Associated Press, www.dailymail.com 4 October 2010 ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
A southeastern West Virginia wind farm that was the subject of a federal lawsuit involving endangered Indiana bats is in operation with limited hours, a company official said Monday.
David Groberg, vice president of Beech Ridge Energy LLC, said construction of the 100.5 megawatt Greenbrier County wind farm was completed in mid-August, but the company delayed making the announcement. Electricity produced by the 67 turbines is being sold to Appalachian Power.
Construction of the project was halted last December when a federal judge in Maryland agreed with two environmental groups that the wind farm could harm the endangered bat. The judge also ruled that Beech Ridge had failed to obtain an incidental take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Such permits are required for projects that might harm federally-listed endangered or threatened wildlife.
A public comment period on the permit ended last month. The federal agency is not expected to complete its environmental impact statement on the project, or make a decision on the permit until next spring.
In the meantime, the wind farm is able to operate under the terms of a settlement to the federal lawsuit.
The settlement allows the turbines to spin 24-hours-a-day between mid-November and April 1 when the bats are hibernating.
The turbines can only be operated during daylight hours the remaining 7.5 months when the bats are active.
The agreement is designed to protect the Indiana bat, which are known to live in the area. The bat has been has been on the federal endangered list since 1967. Officials estimate there are less than 400,000 bats surviving in the eastern United States, and 15,000 in West Virginia.
The state Public Service Commission approved the project in 2006, but it took a state Supreme Court ruling to clear the way for construction. Local residents sued claiming the wind farm would harm property values and views. The wind farm is located on a 23-mile stretch of ridgeline owned by Virginia-based MeadWestvaco.
Beech Ridge Energy is owned by Chicago-based Invenergy.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
(via Stripe) |
(via Paypal) |
Share: