Published: December 05, 2008 09:13 am      

Don’t fall for this propaganda

It is true that West Virginia is blessed with many superb wind power sites sought after by power companies. It is also true that a small minority of people don’t want to see the turbines anywhere near their back yard, no matter what benefits they may bring to the local economy, the environment and our energy crisis.

These generating facilities inject large amounts of money into our state and local communities and create badly needed jobs. In desperation, these opponents play on our basic emotions and tell us that we must just be a bunch of stupid hillbillies being exploited once again by greedy out of state companies. Nothing can be further from the truth.

The process of obtaining a siting permit for a wind power facility is lengthy and totally open to public scrutiny. There are extensive requirements for objective third party on-site studies that include environmental, historical, archeological, water, avian, wildlife, and others. Various state agencies such as the DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, EPA and others are totally involved.

The Public Service Commission has experienced engineers on staff who are thoroughly familiar with wind projects. There will be public hearings and meetings to gather input and review all evidence. Nothing is hidden. The allegation that we can all be fooled and hoodwinked is simply ridiculous.

The W.Va. Department of Energy is promoting wind power in our state. The federal government has created incentive programs for projects like the Pinnacle Project. Our new president-elect has committed to a 10-year energy plan that focuses on wind power development. T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore have organized millions of people to support wind power. Yet opponents want us to believe that any wind power developer that shows up in our state is only motivated by greed and is out to do us harm.

To the contrary, these developers are doing exactly what our country wants and needs. This is a win-win situation where American power companies are developing American wind resources for American consumers using American workers. Who amongst us wants to stop that, and why?

In the New Year, we will be bombarded with a well-rehearsed but false set of facts that attempt to portray wind power as ineffective, unproven, harmful, and unnecessary. This campaign of misinformation was developed by several national anti-wind groups, whose objective is to stop wind power in the U.S. These groups rely on the fact that most people really don’t know much about how power is generated and what part wind power will play in our future.

This propaganda campaign has been refuted by all major power industry, government and environmental groups and has been given the title: “The myths of wind power.” A simple Internet search using that title will quickly show any interested reader what the real facts are. The financial benefits Mineral County will receive from U.S. Windforce’s Pinnacle Project are numerous and obvious.

First, there is more than $300,000 in annual local taxes and other contributions that the county would receive from the project. Our local construction unions are fully represented in the PSC approval process and guarantees the use of West Virginia labor for the 200 construction jobs. The allegation that only out-of-state labor will be used is untrue.

The private landowners will receive yearly lease payments as well as a percentage of the power revenues generated by the units on their property. Then there are the half dozen long term high paying skilled maintenance jobs that can’t go overseas. Local merchants and services will benefit both during and after construction for any necessary supplies and services.

We are faced with a choice: Do we embrace this opportunity to benefit from and be part of the energy revolution sweeping our nation, or do we once again turn our backs to the rest of the country and act paranoid and small minded?

We continually strive to attract out of state businesses to locate in our state. Will we then greet them with suspicion, hatred and mistrust, or will we extend our hand with an air of cooperation and confidence in our ability to successfully be part of the growing American energy revolution?

Joel Martin

Belington, W.Va.