DUNLO — Twenty-five new wind turbines on former Adams Township strip mines will not only produce clean energy, but also create jobs and new tax revenues.
“I think it’s a win-win situation,” township supervisors’ Chairman William “B.J.” Smith said Thursday at groundbreaking ceremonies for EverPower Renewables Corp.’s Highland Wind Project site.
“It will help to stave off some future taxes,” Smith said.
Construction will begin immediately on the $140 million project’s first phase, to be completed by December, company President Jim Spencer said at the ceremony.
The 25 turbines will produce 62 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 30,000 homes.
At the same time, New York-based EverPower will work to restore the former strip mine.
“We are taking a brownfield site and turning it into a green site,” Spencer said. “Wind is the future of energy generation.”
Eight turbines will be on Highland Sewer and Water Authority property above the utility’s secondary reservoir. Highland agreed to participate after investigating the environmental impact, Manager Ed Englehart said. All plans have to be reviewed by Highland’s engineers.
“We checked with our hydrogeologist,” Englehart said. “He is firmly convinced they don’t pose any environmental damage.”
Opponents of another wind farm proposed for Shaffer Mountain have raised concerns about the construction’s watershed impact and threat to endangered species.
Such development is always an environmental balancing act, said Secretary Kathleen McGinty of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“We need to build a clean economy,” McGinty said at the program.
“That’s the answer to environmental problems. But for any particular project, we insist on thorough standards and a full and vigorous permit review. Nobody gets a free pass.”
Developing clean, renewable energy sources such as wind power is vital to national economic security, McGinty stressed.
“This project is part of the solution,” McGinty said.
“This project is an environmental and economic home run.”
She commended Adams Township officials for their work on regulations that encourage development while protecting residents.
“We’ve got a winning formula that starts with the local leaders, up through the Legislature and right to the governor,” McGinty said.
The project will create as many as 60 full-time construction jobs and sustain thousands more power-related jobs across the state, Spencer said.
Adams Township, Cambria County and Forest Hills School District will receive tax revenue.
A second, 25-turbine phase is in the works for next year, raising the Highland project’s output to more than 130 megawatts.
That would make it the second- largest wind project in the state, Spencer said.
Local News
Related Photos
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Jim Spencer, president of EverPower Renewables (center), talks with Rep. Gary Haluska (left) and state Sen. John Wozniak after the groundbreaking for the Highland Wind Project near Beaverdale on Thursday. JohnTanish
Discussion
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