Proposed Beech Ridge Wind Industrial Park
Invenergy LLC of Chicago soon will apply for state Public Service Commission approval for a new wind generation project in northern Greenbrier County.
The planned Beech Ridge Wind Farm would be a $300 million, 200-megawatt project on about 500 acres of property belonging to Stamford, Conn.-based MeadWestvaco.
The company plans to place the project's 133 turbines on Shellcamp Ridge, Smokehouse Ridge, Beech Ridge, Rockcamp Ridge, Big Ridge, Old Field Mountain, Blue Knob, Nunly Mountain and Cold Knob Mountain.
Invenergy LLC files for PSC aproval 11/01/2005
| 05-1590-E-PW-CN | Beech Ridge Energy LLC | |||
| New Case Filed 11/01/2005 | ||||
| Application for a siting certificate to authorize the construction and operation of a wholesale electric generating facility and related transmission support line of less than 200 kV and associated interconnection facilities in Greenbrier County and Nicholas County, West Virginia | ||||
Firm wants to build Greenbrier wind farm
By Eric Eyre
Staff writer Charleston Gazette
Greenbrier County might become home to one of the largest wind-power projects east of the Mississippi River.
A Chicago company plans to request a state permit today to build 124 electricity-generating wind turbines on 500 acres in northwestern Greenbrier County. The 186-megawatt project would produce enough electricity for about 50,000 homes.
“The benefit is clean energy,” said Dave Groberg, senior development manager with Invenergy Wind. “It doesn’t create any smog or haze.”
Similar wind-energy projects have sparked criticism across the country. Wind power opponents say the turbines kill bats and migratory birds and spoil scenic views.
Groberg said the closest homes would be a mile away. The company is conducting a study on how the project would impact wildlife.
“There’s no perfect form of energy generation,” Groberg said. “Developing wind energy resources is consistent with what the governor is trying to do in West Virginia.”
Two other projects — both near Mount Storm in Grant County — have obtained Public Service Commission approval and could be built later this year.
Invenergy operates a wind-energy project in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The company is also building wind farms in Colorado, Idaho and Montana.
To build the turbines, the company must get approval from the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The $300 million project, called the Beech Ridge Wind Farm, would be about three times the size of the state’s only existing wind energy project in Tucker County.
Groberg said the company picked the northern Greenbrier County site because it’s close to an electricity transmission system, and several mountain ridges provide ideal wind resources. The project would connect with Allegheny Power’s Grassy Falls substation about 15 miles away.
“Wind energy provides a long-term fixed energy price,” Groberg said Monday. “It won’t fluctuate.”
Groberg predicted the wind project would provide 20 full-time jobs, paying about $35,000 each. He said about 200 temporary construction jobs would be created during the eight months it would take to build the turbines.
Construction would start next summer, and the turbines would begin generating electricity as early as 2007, if the Public Service Commission approves the proposal.
The project would pump about $400,000 in tax revenue into Greenbrier County, making Invenergy the fifth-highest property taxpayer in the county, Groberg said.
The wind-turbine towers would be about 260 feet tall, each with three blades about 130 feet long. The company, which has worked on the project for more than two years, plans to build the turbines on the higher ridges north of U.S. 60 at Rupert, south of Monongahela National Forest. The company plans to buy most of the land from Connecticut-based MeadWestvaco.
To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, use e-mail or call 348-4869