Alan Mollohan's Opposition to Windmill Construction

Last night at the US Windforce meeting in the Wind Lea Conference Center in Keyser, a letter was produced and distributed containing a several page long list of objections by Congressman Alan Mollohan to this development.

Mollohan cited a number of concerns in his letter, starting first with the fear that windmills might adversely affect the bat population. Next he asserted that the Beech Ridge project was constructed without regard for the positions of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, again citing an as yet unknown effect on birds. Finally he complained that it affects the aesthetics of mountain views. Congressman Mollohan believed the effects on tourism would be dire.

This letter was passed around as evidence of Congressman Mollohan's antagonism to wind power. Whether or not the congressman feels the same today as he did in the letter may be debatable since it was dated July 26, 2006. Since that point we have had two congressional and one presidential election. No matter what other nonsense the dominant party has spewed since last January, a commitment to wind power has been one of their goals. Would Congressman Mollohan issue a detailed statement so diametrically opposed to wind power today? Perhaps, but then again perhaps not. After all, windmills do not permanently alter the contours of the mountains that he so wonderfully describes. I doubt that he would reject a new limited access highway carving through the hills and ridges of his district, nor would I want him to.

The letter's predictions, however, are worthy of study. Did windmills in Tucker County affect tourism? I see busses stopped at windmills there all the time so people can have their pictures taken with them. Have the numbers of people who visited that county dropped since the construction of windmills more than what would be normal in a recession? The answer to that could be interesting.

At the end of the day the practical numbers are what is important. How many local companies and individuals will be involved? How much will the heightened tax revenue help our cash strapped school system? How much money will the property owners who benefit from these projects spend in Mineral County?

My thought on aesthetics is that I do not see a ridge near a town as an unspoiled view. We have development extending from Keyser up Green Mountain. The Department of Highways is considering the construction of a highway perhaps a generation from now in the same general spot. Certainly there are areas some areas with a unique quality where we'd rather not have them. Having them sitting above the lights of a large town does less visual harm.

I also disagree with anyone who believes that wind will ever come close to substituting for coal. Wind power helps to bolster our output and enhance even further our energy exports. Congressman Mollohan in 2006 took a narrow view when he said that power exports only help those outside the state. Producing more power than you consume helps keep rates from increasing even faster than they do now. Expanding all possible sources of power, as the representative from the state Department of Energy expert explained at the meeting, increases jobs and state tax revenues. West Virginia can now also boast of being one of only a few states pursuing both alternative and renewable energy resources.

Most developments in the state, once done, cannot ever be completely undone. Coal companies try to restore the original contours of mountain ridges as much as possible. Highways snake across the landscape cutting through the hills. Industrial parks are permenent monuments of concrete, block, and steel. Windmills are one of the few things that, if they do not work, their removal would leave the natural view almost unchanged. Some fear that if wind power goes belly up, they will have to look at decaying structures with no purpose. I would doubt that, with the ever increasing price of scrap metal, that they would go unclaimed for long. People in the last election stole campaign signs for the steel mounts because metal is now such a lucrative product. If this is a major concern, the Legislature could hold wind power companies to the same standard as coal; when you are done, remove the evidence of your presence.

We want development. We want more clean and cheap power. Wind power provides a minimum of risk with a broad potential for gain.