Wind Farm or Mountaintop Removal on Coal River Mountain?

Excerpted from an article by Fred Pace, Beckley Register-Herald, June 3, 2008 

Wind farming or strip mining? Which energy extraction method should be used on Coal River Mountain?

  Residents of (Raleigh County), with the support of environmental and community organizations such as Coal River Mountain Watch, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, asked the Raleigh County Commission to support a proposed wind farm, which they say offers more long-term economic, social and environmental benefits to the county

  Lorelei Scarbro of Rock Creek said she owns 10 acres that are at risk due to four massive strip mining permits for Coal River Mountain that would level 6,600 acres and lead to the construction of 19 valley fills, 14 of which would impact the Sycamore Creek watershed.

  "These permits havent been issued yet," she said. "These mines would be at the heads of Horse Creek, Dry Creek and Rock Creek, and will surround nearly the entire length of Sycamore Creek, which is considered to be the most pristine stream in the area."

  Scarbro said many residents living in the proposed strip mining area favor an alternative wind power. "We want Raleigh County to be in the forefront of renewable energy sources."

  Rory Mcilmoil of Coal River Mountain Watch told commissioners that in the latter months of 2006, Dr. David Orr, a professor at Oberlin College in Ohio, (commissioned) a study of the wind potential on Coal River Mountain.

  "The study was conducted by WindLogics, a nationally recognized wind modeling and development firm, and it showed that the ridges along Coal River Mountain exhibited strong Class 4 to Class 7 average annual wind speeds," Mcilmoil said. "It was found that Coal River Mountain has enough wind potential and land area to accommodate 220 two-megawatt wind turbines. Calculations showed that this was enough energy to power over 150,000 homes or over 90,000 total electricity customers, including residential, commercial and industrial units."

"So far, we have been in contact with two interested companies, and it also would have the strong support of both local and national organizations interested in supporting sustainable community development initiatives in Appalachia," Mcilmoil said. "Not only would the development of a Coal River Mountain wind farm be more economically beneficial in the long term that the proposed mountaintop removal would, it would result in the preservation of the mountain for the development of other economic alternatives, such as tourism, sustainable timber harvesting, hunting and fishing, and providing the resources for local craft and furniture production. Raleigh County could ultimately serve as a model for other counties in southern West Virginia facing a post-coal future."

Take Action

In July OVEC staff facilitated a meeting between Coal River Wind Project proponents and the union organization Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation. ACT is willing to help us contact wind energy companies.

You can help move this project forward too. Visit www.coalriverwind.org to learn more and take action.