CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE WIND POWER, INC.
asks you to send a
LETTER to our GOVERNOR
Write Governor Manchin TODAY
to stop the huge industrial turbines on our High Allegheny Mountains
These new wind turbines can be as high as 550 feet, ruining scenic views. They have only a 30% production efficiency rate, and they have the potential of killing 40,000 birds and bats a year. That is eight times the number of fatalities at the Backbone Mountain wind facility in Tucker County, West Virginia, which holds the world record for number of bat kills.
Governor Manchin has expressed his displeasure with the small economic return to the state from this form of industrial energy development, but it is time to tell him:
Please send a letter to the Governor today, or, add your comments, name, and address to this sample letter. Address to:
The Honorable Joe Manchin
Governor's Office
1900 Kanawha Boulevard E
Charleston WV 25305
or submit an e-mail letter from http://www.saveblackwater.org/dolly_sods_page.htm.
Two projects - U.S. Wind Force's 166 turbines at Mt. Storm and NedPower's 200 turbines on Allegheny Front - were licensed (certified) by the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) without siting regulations and without the studies recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other regulatory agencies. These licenses are currently being challenged.
Two more industrial wind turbine projects (one in Pendleton County-Liberty Gap/Jack Mountain and Greenbrier County—Beech Ridge/Cold Knob) are currently being considered by the PSC for certification.
During hearings on the Greenbrier project, PSC officials admitted to not having personnel available to professionally review many forms of important information presented by the industry or project opponents. And, it is highly questionable if, under current regulations, they are even required to do so.
We can no longer permit this kind of industry, with implicit human, environmental, economic, and other effects, to be licensed or managed in this manner in our state.
Please ask Governor Manchin to stop such certification until his administration (in the form of PSC) is fully equipped and capable of responsible licensure and regulation!
Truly, these huge turbines will have a devastating effect on this scenic area, the flyways, local property values, and tourism in addition to noise, vibration, flicker, and other effects damaging to human health and the natural environment.
Combined with continued local opposition activities, we think West Virginia's Governor will provide the help we need to get these monstrosities off the state's radar screen. But he must hear from people like you!
See for yourself, the nature of The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) siting guidelines for wholesale energy generating facilities including industrial wind projects. Check www.saveblackwater.org for the full guidelines. The PSC chose not to wait for information from important studies (including the National Academy of Science on wind regulation and siting). The PSC guidelines do not adequately protect viewsheds from public land and do not require the two years of bird and bat studies recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Citizens for Responsible Wind Power (CRWP) has filed complaints with the Public Service Commission (PSC) against Nedpower and U.S. Wind Force for making misleading statements in their PSC filings. In response PSC now requires that these two developers fully certify their records before any construction can begin.
Citizen meetings in Lewisburg (Greenbrier County), Franklin (Pendleton County) and Monterey, Virginia, have drawn large crowds of local residents (200, 500,1000) to state their objections to the proposed wind turbine projects in their counties. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources fears that the projects will kill endangered Virginia Big-eared bats, which live in caves nearby. In Pendleton County, six thousand acres of land for the giant turbines is owned by John Crites of Allegheny Wood Products. John Crites bought land in the Cheat Canyon and the Blackwater Canyon, just before they were slated to be protected as public land. Crites is also involved with U.S. Wind Force's industrial wind project near Mt. Storm in Tucker County. County officials in Pendleton County initially threatened to use eminent domain to "take" land from local farmers for the Jack Mountain project, but upon citizen protest, rescinded this action.
The Backbone Mountain, WV and Meyersdale, PA industrial wind projects owned by Florida Power and Light (FLP) continue to kill bats. After correcting for bats removed by scavengers or missed by searchers, the average number of fatalities at the two locations was stimated between 1,764 and 2,900 for a six-week period in 2004. Bat Conservation International (BCI) President Merlin Tuttle said, "If we start killing these thousands of bats that these data predict, that's going to put a heck of a dent in the green image of wind power." For a summary of a report on the bat mortality study, go to www.batcon.org/wind/BWEC2004Reportsummary.pdf. BCI's research at the Backbone site was cancelled by FLP this year.
The wind industry filed objections to the PSC siting standards on noise. Wind industry representatives fear that new noise regulations will prevent their projects from being built in West Virginia. CRWP has filed responses in support of the PSC noise standards. However, work on these standards have been stalled since 2004.
Tucker County Commissioners have complained that the taxes paid by Florida Power and Light's Backbone Mountain Project are too low or, more typically, not existant. These taxes were lowered by the West Virginia Legislature in an effort led by Delegate Harold Michael of Hardy County, who has received significant campaign contributions from the owners of U.S. Wind Force.
U.S. Wind Force has received $3,000,000 from the State of West Virginia to develop wind facilities across the Allegheny Highlands. They received $2,500,000 from the West Virginia Housing Development Fund. Coincidently, current PSC Commissioner, Ed Staats was on the Housing Development Board when the loan was considered
CRWP has limited information on wind projects envisioned for Barbour, Preston, Randolph, and Mineral counties. Please let us know what you hear.
Citizens for Responsible Wind Power
Linda Cooper, President
(Send us a copy of your letter! E-mail it to info@responsiblewind.org or send it via regular mail to P.O. Box 4405, Star City, WV.
