NedPower / Shell dismissive of WV Supreme Court case

Not content with misleading the WV PSC in their original filings regarding their wind turbine project at Mt Storm, the developers are now also working hard creating a smoke screen of mis-information in the public press and media.

Perhaps some of their posturing and bragging may end up causing local residents to finally see the true nature of what is occurring.

In the Petersburg Gazette, Timothy O'Leary, Shell's external affairs manager notes "people like to look at them, there will be alot of rubbernecking". Unfortunately this includes the drivers on Rt 42 where O'Leary is building several of his 400ft high machines within a few hundred yards of the roadway. Is this likely to cause more traffic accidents on this narrow and twisting road?

Also no mention was made in the application to the PSC that further nuisance can be expected to local residents from sightseeing car drivers attempting to gain access to the actual turbines themselves by driving down the local access roads.

O'Leary continues - "We don't expect the court case to have any effect on the project".

Meanwhile Frank Maisano, spokesman for a coalition of wind developers explains to the State Journal "Renewable projects in West Virginia will provide economic opportunities and tax revenue for local communities, as well as clean renewable power for the environment".

The facts however do not support Mr Maisano's sweet claims.

First the wind developers have persuaded the federal government to remove the tax obligations for wind projects - therefore tax revenue is now completely discretionary and negiotiable!

Next those economic opportunities - seems those are mostly for Mr Maisano's employers who are garnering 92% of the $300M Mt Storm money and spending it in Pennsylvania and Spain - not Grant County!

As for renewable projects - wind power cannot be justified on cost grounds without huge government subsidies - hardly renewable - in fact short lived is a more accurate description. NedPower's own figures quote 60,000 homes supported by their power compared to the over 2,000,000 that the existing power station supports.

Even the 'environmentally clean power' label is looking tarnished when local environment groups oppose the project and point to the thousands of bird and bat deaths caused annually by huge wind turbines, along with environment impact from the 12 mile long project construction.

It is time that the wind industry stopped using West Virginia as an easy spin for hijacking hundreds of millions of $ dollars of federal money for their clients while leaving West Virginia with a few meagre thousands of dollars of goodwill payments to local schools and the burden of cleaning up behind their ill-advised and environmentally disruptive wind turbines.