Wind turbines proposed for Green Mountain 

Attention, hunters on Green Mountain and all local citizens. Please show your concern. See Web site ResponsibleWind.org, which is a group trying to protect the Blackwater Falls Area and Allegheny Front.

In this newsletter they said that the turbines have disrupted the bear and rattlesnake habitat and the animals are seen in lower areas near homes. The turbines cause noise pollution and visual pollution of the beautiful mountains. The U.S. government has halted many projects due to bird deaths or potential interference with military radar. And the vast collections of turbines – some of which reach 40 stories tall are unreliable and unsightly.

Let’s not rush into something that we as a county may really regret. There is an open house Monday being given by the company so let’s show up. I have included some information from Friends of Allegheny Front and Blackwater below: (ResponsibleWind.org)

The mission of Citizens for Responsible Wind Power is to ensure that industrial windpower complexes do not adversely affect citizens, local communities, and the public. This includes adverse effects or impacts on the local economy, cultural resources, scenic viewsheds, wildlife habitat, public lands, and sensitive natural environments that may result from siting, construction, and operation of such facilities.

If you live near Backbone Mountain or have traveled to the area, you have seen the 44 turbines that now disfigure the mountain’s beautiful ridgeline. As distressing as that is, it is even more disconcerting to learn that more wind power plants – with even taller turbines – are being planned. There are currently seven proposed wind power plants, which will cover the graceful mountains that surround our West Virginia and Maryland communities with nearly 600 turbines.

These facilities have very limited capacity to generate electricity, and the power they produce is inefficient. They would not be financially viable without numerous federal and state tax subsidies. In addition, very little thought has been given to how these facilities will harm us financially, including a decline in our property values and how they affect tourism and second home development which are essential to our local economies. Our communities have sacrificed themselves to meet the country’s energy demands for more than a century. It’s time for us to say enough!

Since 2002, Friends of the Allegheny Front and Friends of Blackwater have worked hard to prevent the construction of wind power plants in our communities. The effort has been very difficult, but we have had several successes.

The wind power plant project proposed by Dominion has been abandoned. The NedPower plant in Grant County was delayed, modified to exclude the southern section, and currently being appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court.

For more information you can contact them at:

Citizens for Responsible Wind Power, PO Box 4405, Star City, WV 26504-4405; Email: info@responsible Wind.org.

Harriett Hartman
New Creek, W.Va.

Cumberland Times-News

12 May 2008