wind energy – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Fourmile Ridge wind project approved, moves forward

Elaine Blaisdell
Cumberland Times-News

— FROSTBURG — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the Fourmile Ridge wind project in eastern Garrett County and site preparation started April 7, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman. The current notice listed on the FAA website for the project is for a small change in turbine location.

The project was hinging on the decommissioning of the Grantsville VOR/DME system, which drew opposition from Ed Kelley, manager of the Garrett County Airport, and the Maryland Aviation Administration. The Grants-ville VOR/DME system will be decommissioned, according to Maisano.

VOR/DME refers to a combined radio navigation station for aircraft consisting of two beacons placed together.

“The decommission of the Grantsville VOR would leave Garrett County and Cumberland airports without a ground-based approach and would eliminate numerous instrument procedures, including six instrumental approach procedures, nine standard arrival routes, four victor airways and one remote communication outlet,” Kelly previously said in a letter to Melinda George of the FAA. “The loss of procedures and services could severely impact the safety of general, commercial, emergency and military aviation within the now served VOR/DME.”

The Fourmile Ridge project started out as a Synergics project with 24 wind turbines and was revised to an Exelon project with 16 wind turbines in the Frostburg Road area.

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved the Fourmile wind project last year.

Construction on the project is slated for completion by early November with testing and plans to begin commercial operations by mid-December 2014, according to Maisano.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.

Exelon to begin work soon for Fourmile Ridge

Sixteen wind turbines to be constructed

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Exelon will begin moving dirt soon for the Fourmile Ridge project, Mike Koch, executive director of Garrett County’s Department of Community Planning and Development, told the county commissioners during their public meeting Tuesday.

Jim Torrington, assistant director of the Garrett County Permits and Inspection Services Office, met with Exelon and a meeting has occurred with constituents regarding erosion, sediment control and stormwater management.

The Garrett County Engineering Department has been looking at drainage, driveway impacts and a roadway use agreement with Exelon for restoring the road once the Fourmile Ridge project is complete, according to Dwight Emory, P.E., director of the engineering department.

The Fourmile Ridge project started out as a Synergics project with 24 wind turbines and was revised to an Exelon project with 16 wind turbines on Frostburg Road, according to Torrington.

More here.

Hearing set on Garrett County, Md., wind farm proposal by Exelon Corp.’s Fair Wind subsidiary

By Associated Press, Published: November 14

MCHENRY, Md. — The Maryland Public Service Commission is hearing public comments on Exelon Corp.’s plan to place 12 to 15 wind turbines on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County about six miles south of Oakland.

The public hearing Thursday night is at Garrett College in McHenry. The Chicago-based company is pursuing the project through its Fair Wind Power Partners subsidiary.

The 30-megawatt wind farm was originally part of a project proposed by Clipper Windpower Inc. Exelon bought the Fair Wind project from Clipper in February.

Exelon says construction could begin in early 2014, with commercial operation commencing by the end of next year.

More here.

University purchases eco-friendly energy

With addition of three local wind and solar sources, officials hope to cut carbon emissions in half

By Claire Saravia

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Faced with the goal of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2020, the university purchased green energy from three local wind and solar sources that will soon provide part of the campus’ power for the next two decades.

The University System of Maryland partnered with the state Department of General Services last year to launch the “Generating Clean Horizons” initiative — a 20-year power purchase agreement launched in 2008 with several green energy producers in the area. Soon, the solar plants and two wind farms will be operational.

The system purchased 10 megawatts — or 20 percent — of the annual energy produced by Roth Rock Wind Farm in Garrett County, Md., which began operating in July. Additionally, officials bought all 55 megawatts of West Virginia’s Pinnacle Wind Farm, which will begin producing energy in December. The system also invested in a 15-megawatt solar project at Mount St. Mary’s University set to launch next year.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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Moving Forward to a Clean Energy Future

TheBaynet.com

Clean energy is becoming a reality in Maryland. Last month, Maryland’s first commercial scale wind energy farms officially began contributing to the state’s electric grid. The Criterion and Synergics wind projects, both in Garrett County, will together generate 120MW of clean, renewable energy—enough to power 40,000 homes.

Next week, the University of Maryland will inaugurate Maryland’s largest solar power installation, a 2.2MW facility located on their Lower Eastern Shore campus, which was built by Maryland-based SunEdison. In addition, the State of Maryland, through the Maryland Energy Administration, has provided more than 2,600 grants to Maryland residents and over 50 grants to Maryland businesses and local governments seeking to do their part to reduce our state’s dependence on costly fossil fuels by generating clean, renewable energy at home.

As a result of these efforts and Maryland’s goal to produce 20% of the state’s electricity from renewable energy by 2022, the amount of solar installed in Maryland has soared five-fold in the last two years and is expected to double again in the next six months.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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LETTER: 'Industrialization' of ecosystem comes at great cost to our region

News-Tribune
Posted Jan 04, 2011 @ 02:13 PM

Keyser, W.Va. — Consider this for a moment: The citizens of Mineral County do indeed have a right to know the content of an agreement between themselves U.S. Wind Force over the serious matter of decommissioning industrial wind turbines. Nearby Garrett County, MD has nothing in place to adequately protect the folks from the ever-changing wind LLC’s.

The City of Cumberland is considering an offer to sell thousands of acres in its watershed.

Garrett County’s Backbone Mountain industrial wind turbine array is nearly complete, with no public safety or health protections, and a proposed mine under the Casselman River awaits local and state approvals. There is no decommissioning agreement at all and the previous commissioners refused to enact any taxpayer protections.

The City of Frostburg is providing city drinking water to Samson Resources to use for hydrofracking just outside of its watershed in an exploratory search for Marcellus Shale.

Hydrofracking is a drilling technique that, because it injects millions of gallons of water-hogging and toxic chemicals into the ground, should be done with a high level of due diligence, to include independent monitoring systems and regulations in place that secure groundwater and protect the public health and well-being.
Frostburg officials have also hired an engineering firm to see if the Piney Watershed Impoundment might also be a good place to consider hydrofracking the City’s freshwater aquifers and stream tributaries for shale gas exploration.

In all cases where it is employed, the work should be monitored by experts employed by the public, but paid for by the developer.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Garrett wind projects to soon generate power

Total of 48 turbines may be operational in December
Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News
Wed Nov 17, 2010, 07:59 AM EST

— OAKLAND — Two Garrett County wind power projects, the first such in Maryland, are expected to begin commercial operation in a matter of weeks, even as opponents consider taking legal action against the facilties.

A 20-turbine wind farm atop Backbone Mountain at Roth Rock is set to become operational by the end of December, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman.

Synergics, the Annapolis-based developer of the Roth Rock project, filed notice with the Maryland Public Service Commission on Nov. 9 that it intended to begin exporting electricity from the facility as early as next week.

Electricity is often generated before a wind power facility officially enters commercial operation, as turbines are tested and systems go online, Maisano explained.

“The project will be undergoing testing, probably in the next two weeks or so,” he said. “That’s why that (filing) is there with the PSC.”

A 28-turbine facility, this one a Constellation Energy project built near Eagle Rock, is also set to become operational by the end of December. But Constellation spokesman Kevin Thornton said Tuesday that it could enter commercial operation as soon as the first week of December.

“We can’t say that officially, but it’s going extremely smoothly,” Thornton said. “It’s really been much better than we had even anticipated. The weather has cooperated with us.”

The Constellation turbines are grouped into three sections, and the project will go online one section at a time.

“They’ll just keep spinning, and eventually all 28 of them will be spinning at once,” Thornton said.

But in Garrett County, project opponents are considering pursuing legal action to delay or derail the operation of the wind farms.

Eric Robison, a member of opposition group Save Western Maryland, said Tuesday that they intend to take one or both of the developers to court over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Save Western Maryland previously file letters of intent to sue both Constellation and Synergics unless the developers sought incidental take permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The permit effectively protects developers from violating the Act by creating a plan in advance to deal with the possibility that endangered wildlife could be harmed by a project.

According to the group, the wind projects will adversely affect Indiana bats and Virginia big-eared bats, both classified as federal endangered species.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Governor O'Malley Statement Regarding $2.5M in Federal Funding for Weatherization Efforts in Western Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 27, 2010) – Governor Martin O’Malley issued this statement today following the announcement by United States Secretary of Energy Chu that two local weatherization agencies in Western Maryland would be receiving over $2.5 million in additional federal funding to assist low-income households with projects designed to reduce their energy bills.

“I want to congratulate the Garrett County Community Action Committee, based in Oakland, on its award of over $1 million to install wind, solar or geothermal renewable energy systems for low income residents. Congratulations are also in order for Washington County-based C&O Conservation, Inc., located in Williamsport, for its award of $1.5 million to replace improperly sized HVAC equipment, thereby saving energy and extending equipment life. Both of these agencies work through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, weatherizing homes for low-income residents in order to save energy and reduce energy bills.

“Since the receipt of federal Recovery Act funds, these two agencies, along with agencies throughout Maryland, have stepped up their production rates and are currently weatherizing more than 350 homes per month. Through June 2010, 1,586 homes in Maryland had been weatherized using federal Recovery Act funding. These grants mark an exciting opportunity to allow low-income residents to enjoy the benefits of alternative energy sources and lower utility bills. These investments in energy efficiency also result in jobs for carpenters, electricians and others who perform the weatherization.”

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Nordex wind turbines to Maryland wind farm

Nordex USA Inc will supply 20 of its N90 2.5 MW wind turbines for the 50 MW wind farm in Garrett County, Maryland.

Nordex says delivery and installation of the wind turbines will start in August, with the wind farm due to be commissioned in December. The contract with developer and future operator Synergics includes a five-year maintenance agreement.

The Roth Rock wind farm is expected to produce 124 GWh of electricity annually. It will be placed atop the Backbone Mountain along an undeveloped ridge stretching three miles.

The wind energy will be bought by Delmarva Power, the University of Maryland and other entities of the State of Maryland.

Read the article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Constellation Energy Completes Acquisition Of Criterion Wind Project in Western Maryland

Apr. 8, 2010

Constellation Energy announced yesterday that it has closed its agreement with Clipper Windpower Inc. to acquire the Criterion wind project on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County and to purchase 28 Clipper Liberty 2.5-megawatt wind turbines for the project.

The 70-megwatt project will be developed, constructed, owned, and operated by the Baltimore-based Constellation Energy. Kathleen W. Hyle, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Constellation Energy, estimates that up to 125 new jobs will be created during peak construction. She said that commercial operation of the wind energy facility is anticipated by year-end.

“Maryland’s clean energy goals are among the most ambitious in the nation, and we’re committed to working with the state to achieve them by investing in an array of solar, wind, biomass, and other sustainable energy projects,” said Hyle. “The market for clean energy products and services is growing rapidly in Maryland and across competitive energy markets nationwide. Investments in sustainable energy sources improve the environment by reducing carbon emissions, spur much-needed job growth, and allow us to broaden our clean-energy product offerings for customers.”

Hyle said that Constellation Energy intends to complete the local project “in an environmentally responsible manner, with special attention to avoid, minimize, and mitigate any potential wildlife impacts from the project.”

She added that the company will continue to work with state and federal agencies as part of this effort and plans to apply for an “incidental take” permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Read the rest of the article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: wind energy

Fourmile Ridge wind project approved, moves forward

Exelon to begin work soon for Fourmile Ridge

Sixteen wind turbines to be constructed

Hearing set on Garrett County, Md., wind farm proposal by Exelon Corp.’s Fair Wind subsidiary

By Associated Press, Published: November 14

University purchases eco-friendly energy

Moving Forward to a Clean Energy Future

LETTER: 'Industrialization' of ecosystem comes at great cost to our region

Garrett wind projects to soon generate power

Governor O'Malley Statement Regarding $2.5M in Federal Funding for Weatherization Efforts in Western Maryland

Nordex wind turbines to Maryland wind farm

Constellation Energy Completes Acquisition Of Criterion Wind Project in Western Maryland

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