A R C H I V E
Chronology of Past Legal Maneuvers and PSC Actions

Why is this happening in Pendleton County?
• Because a few large landowners will make a lot of money for themselves.
• Because some county officials have been swayed by inflated company projections of tax revenue and other payments without considering the lost revenues resulting from decreasing or flat-lined property values.
• Because federal legislation has created ways for investors to shield profits from taxation by taking extra tax credits available only to wind and solar energy production investments, an industry subsidy placed on the backs of all federal taxpayers.
• And mostly because promoters of wind power have mounted a massive public relations campaign that vastly overstates the benefits of industrial wind power and have managed to persuade some state legislatures to mandate its use, thereby creating an artificial market for its product.

How can these projects be stopped?
• As with all such projects, they need governmental permits and approvals to proceed. Citizens can apply the most pressure by voicing their opposition, presenting evidence that supports their opposition and participating in the public phases of the approval process.
• Voicing concerns to elected representatives also can help generate legislative remedies, provide better oversight and accountability and perhaps cause some politicians to ponder their future electibility.

What do we know?
• We know that real estate values will suffer. At this point the evidence is largely anecdotal but research on comparable sales before and after the arrival of wind turbines on Backbone Mountain is underway and will be posted here when it becomes available.
• Liberty Gap did not reveal that while they applied for a siting permit for up to 50 wind turbines on Jack Mtn., their request to Allegheny Power to intertie at the North Franklin Substation was to connect 112 turbines, meaning they have plans to extend the wind farm into Highland County.
• It will cost Allegheny Power 1.4 million dollars to make all the necessary upgrades to accommodate the connection of Liberty Gap to the power grid. That cost will show up in our electric bills.

N E W S • A R C H I V E

• 28 August 2006 - Beech Ridge application approved. Read the PSC's Order.

• 20 August 2006 Wind energy: A looming disaster for West Virginia by Vincent A. Collins Sunday Gazette-Mail

• August 2006 Read Congressman Mollohan's letter to the PSC about Beech Ridge.

• 4 May 2005 - from Glen Schleede. Several of you brought to my attention a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) press release and report issued on April 13, 2005, dealing with "proposed rules designed to better accommodate an increased participation of wind energy in wholesale markets." READ MORE. The press release can be found at http://www.ferc.gov/press-room/pr-current/04-13-05-windnopr.aspThe staff report can be found at http://www.ferc.gov/legal/ferc-regs/land-docs/11-04-wind-report.pdf The staff report is highly biased in favor of the wind industry and parrots propaganda from the industry. The proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2005, beginning at page 21349 and ending on page 21361. Link to the proposed regulations.If the links above change, here is the URL for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Here's a link to the Federal Register to look up the proposed rules (search "page 21349"). This is a formal "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" (NOPR) so it must be taken very seriously. Comments must be received by FERC no later than 30 days from April 26.

• 4 May 2006 - The public hearing, hosted by West Virginia’s Public Service Commission, was the first time Pendleton citizens had the opportunity to publicly address officials about Liberty Gap LLC’s plans for a 100-megawatt facility on Jack Mountain. More than 100 people attended two sessions that day. Read the article.

• May 2005 Collection by theGlebe Mountain Group in Vermont.

• 30 April 2005 Cornell Halts Wind Project! Thanks for David Roberson (MA), Nancy Wahlstrom (NY) and Cynthia Cole (NY) for this story from the Ithaca (NY) Journal and a letter written by a Cornell University senior about Cornell's plans.

• 4 April 2005 Wind farms need closer look, Mollohan says. Mollohan said he tried, unsuccessfully, to get the state’s [West Virginia] Public Service Commission to look more carefully at data and statistics about wind power. “The Public Service Commission ought to explain why they are approving all these projects. They cannot say it is cheap energy. It is not cheap energy. “And they cannot say wind power makes a significant contribution to the electrical gird. That is not true,” Mollohan said. Most of the capital paying to build wind farms comes from other states and other countries.

• 30 March 2005 This article describes an interesting approach: Potential Lessors get Warning Letters About Wind Turbines "It is my understanding that you are considering leasing a portion of your land to be used for the construction of wind turbines. Because these turbines may have an adverse impact upon my clients, I am writing to you to warn you that my clients will hold you responsible for any damage to their property that may result from these wind turbines."

• 22 March 2005 It's clear that BIG MONEY IN NEED OF TAX SHELTERS has discovered the outrageous tax benefits associated with wind energy: FPL Group, parent of Florida Power & Light and FPL Energy (largest owner of wind energy in the US) paid NO federal income taxes in 2002 or 2003 on over $2 billion in net income -- according to CTJ report. (over $1.2 Billion in depreciation deductions in 2002 & 2003) Scottish power-owned PPM bought Atlantic Renewable. AES bought SeaWest. J.P. Morgan apparently is behind Noble "Environmental" (Northern NY and Michigan). Story (courtesy of David Roberson) says that Goldman-Sachs has bought Zilkha. Clearly, there will be BIG MONEY pressure to continue the wind Production Tax Credit and to enact national -- as well as state -- renewable portfolio standards.

• 26 Jan. 2005 Class Action suit filed in US District Court (KS).The action seeks a judgment declaring that tax relief and direct subsidies for industrial wind turbine commercial electric power generation facilities which will cause serious, permanent, and irreparable damage to the Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem violate the provisions of the Constitution of the United States.

• 20 Jan. 2005 Press Release. KS State Representative Frank Miller speaks out against "wind farms" coming to his district. Read his Press Release of 20 Jan. 2005.

• 20 Jan. 2005 Grant County Press article. Developers say Mt. Storm wind farm project alive — could come in 2006.

• 4 Jan. 2005 Read the memo from Merlin Tucker, president of Bat Conservation International, recommends halt to construction of wind turbines on wooded ridges until bat mortality problem is solved.

• Oct. 2004 “Financing Wind Projects Through the Voluntary Green Power Market,” by Kathy Belyeu, AWEA Staff. An American Wind Association report on a conference where attendees plotted ways to use "feel good" sentiments regarding wind power to tap into "public" money for support. -- a somewhat technical report.The schemes described in the report are related to state (and proposed national) "Renewable Portfolio Standards" and "green energy" credits and trading. Perhaps there are people in the state legislatures, regulatory agencies, colleges and universities -- and utilities -- who would like to hear from you about the way their actions are encouraging wasteful, expensive and counterproductive "wind farm" construction.

• Nov. 2002 An appraisal by ROKT (Residents Opposed to Kittitas Turbines - WA) Just another example of the deceptions used by wind turbine promoters.

• Photos of Cefn Croes area in the Cambrian Mountains, Wales (web link)