4 January 2005

An open letter to Governor-elect Joe Manchin, III

I am a resident of Pendleton County and attended the Democrat campaign rally at Thorn Spring Park this fall. When you spoke, you made some nice remarks about how much you enjoyed and appreciated the scenic beauty of Pendleton County. I don’t think that has been the only time you’ve publicly stated how appealing and valuable our mountain and valley landscape is, both in its own right and as an engine of economic growth for tourism-related businesses and the vacation-home real estate market.

Pendleton County needs your help to protect that landscape. It is being threatened by the blight of large-scale industrial wind turbine projects similar to, but more extensive, than what has already happened on Backbone Mountain in Tucker County.

This is an opportunity for you to take a decisive stand against this invasion. The facts are clear. These industrial “wind farms” are costly, inefficient and unreliable producers of electricity. They are proliferating only because of the huge tax breaks to investors and by the move, in some states, to legislatively force power companies to raise their usage of renewable energy sources.

It sounds nice on paper but it is economically unsound and West Virginia will be left holding another bag, as it already does with the unreclaimed strip mines and unstable coal slurry impoundments of bankrupt companies.

There’s a much better way for West Virginia to demonstrate energy leadership. Call for a moratorium on these industrial wind projects and promote a decentralized alternative that is already proven and simple: home-scaled wind power. Give homeowners the kinds of tax credits and incentives wealthy outside investors have been given, and the result will be thousands of individual homeowners putting power into the grid and “running the electric meters backward.” All this can be done without the need to construct or maintain any of the expensive, large-scale transmission lines, redundant backup systems, substation upgrades and access roads required by the mega-mills.

Governor Romney of Massachusetts has vowed to do whatever it takes to put a stop to a proposed wind project in the waters off Cape Cod, and elected officials in other states are becoming aware of the negative impacts of these projects. It would be exciting to hear our governor-elect say in his inaugural address that the people of West Virginia have sacrificed enough of their natural birthright to outside exploitation and that it’s time for a moratorium on industrial-scale wind projects to allow for a thorough consideration of the alternatives.

16 February 2005

Dear Gov. Manchin,

I'm disappointed at not getting a response to my letter of Jan. 4 but I have enclosed a copy of it in case it got waylaid in the lead up to your inauguration. I should also add that I sent it to the address you had at the Secretary of State's office. However, I am also concerned that the lack of a reply may have been intentional because of my opposition to the destructive effect the presence of industrial wind plants will have on the economic base of Pendleton County's tourism and vacation home real estate market, that base being our unsurpassed scenic landscape.

I am concerned that you have been misinformed about the economic benefits that would accrue to West Virginia if private wind developers were given a helping hand by the state. Few permanent jobs result from these projects. Outside, specialized contractors bring in their own crews, do the work and move on. A few investors make a lot of money but that's as far as it goes. The permanent drop-off in vacation home construction as a result of the presence of these wind plants would cost more and better jobs being lost than the few maintenance jobs being created.

I am also concerned about your intentions with the newly reorganized Public Energy Authority. It seems to be a thinly disguised way to give money to the wind developers via bonds and then use the full force and authority of the state to condemn property, making it possible for the wind developers to run their transmission lines over any private property they desire.

West Virginia can take a leadership position on energy production and I suggested a course of action in my first letter to you. I was heartened to hear you mention clean coal technology in your State of the State speech to the legislature as an area to be explored for development. I would be even more heartened to hear that you are not going to be swayed by the phony claims of industrial wind promoters that blanketing the ridges of West Virginia with marginally productive, tax credit dependent wind turbines is good for West Virginia's economic future. It's just another boondoggle at the expense of real property values and real jobs.

If you choose to respond to this letter I will with your permission post your reply on www.protectpendleton.com so that other voters and property owners in Pendleton County can be informed of your position on this topic and its implications for us.

Sincerely,

Dear Dear Mr. Hooton:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the wind turbine issue in Pendleton County. Your thoughts and concerns are of great importance to me, and I will be taking them under advisement with my key staff. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your correspondence to Ms. Stephanie Timmermeyer, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, asking her to also respond to you.

As I said during the campaign rally at Thorn Spring Park, I very much value the natural splendor and beauty of the Pendleton County landscape. Nothing is more important to me than preserving the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. As Governor, I am grateful to you for bringing this potential problem to my attention., Please rest assured I fully intend to review the dangers of industrial "wind farms" to our environment, as well as to give consideration to your alternative suggestion of home-scaled wind power.

Please accept my most sincere best wishes. If I can be of any further assistance, do not hesitate to let me know.