Nearly three years after a permit application to build a wind farm on Shaffer Mountain was filed with the state, the first shovel of dirt is yet to be turned.
The project could be the poster child for private advocacy – with nearly a thousand residents flooding a Department
of Environmental Protection meeting in August 2007 to fight the construction and tens of thousands of dollars raised for the Save Our Mountain cause.
But Gamesa USA, the Spain-based company which plans the Somerset and Bedford counties wind facility said it is not backing down despite public opposition.
Gamesa’s interest in the project is as strong as its ever been, Alyssa Edwards, senior project developer said Friday.
“The Shaffer Mountain wind farm remains a priority for Gamesa,” Edwards said. “We are fully committed to the project and we believe the site is appropriate for this type of clean energy development.”
The company wants to build 30 turbines near the border with Bedford County in an area critics maintain has exceptional streams, endangered species and provides a migration corridor for prized raptors and birds.
Joe Cominsky, a Shaffer Mountain property owner, thinks the intense community involvement and opposition to the project is responsible for the delays.
“The whole Allegheny Front has been inundated with wind turbines. The only place they’ve been beaten back is Shaffer Mountain,” he said.
DEP has issued several letters citing deficiencies with the plan as part of the technical review, and Gamesa has responded, DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said.
Gamesa is seeking a required National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems permit as well as a Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit.
The second permit is needed because of a proposed stream crossing.
“They look at any possible issue that could occur during construction,” Gresh said.
The most recent technical review letter went out the week of Nov. 20 and a response from Gamesa arrived at DEP last week.
“They are still responding,” Gresh said.
Edwards said Gamesa continues to work with various state and federal agencies and forwards the information the agencies need before deciding on the application.
“I will say this: This process showcases the very rigorous standards that go into permitting a wind farm in Pennsylvania,” Edwards said.
“Many who oppose wind farms claim the process is completely unregulated,” she said. “Shaffer Mountain proves that just the opposite is true.”
The farm is proposed for Shade and Ogle townships in Somerset County and Napier Township is Bedford County.
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Gamesa: Shaffer Mountain a priority
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