By KATHY MELLOTT
BEDFORD — Construction could begin in the spring on the first wind farm in Bedford County, a $100 million facility proposed for the top of the Dunning and Evitts mountain range.
Iberdrola Renewables Inc. of Portland Ore., has filed a construction permit application with the state Department of Environmental Protection and review is under way for the Dunning Mountain wind project.
The application spells out Iberdrola’s plans to build 25 windmills stretching about four miles in parts of Bedford, East St. Clair, King and South Woodbury townships.
It will impact about 550 acres with just less than 100 acres listed as “disturbed,” the company’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit spells out.
Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman said the company is working to provide clean energy through the Dunning Mountain project and others.
“We are committed to setting a high standard in the industry for responsibly developing wind power,” he said. “This project will create clean, homegrown power and substantial economic benefits for the area.”
The 400-foot-tall windmills will generate a combined total of 48 megawatts, or the electricity needed to power as many as 14,000 homes. Estimates are one megawatt powers between 255 and 300 homes.
Described as the world’s largest owner and operator of renewable energy systems, Iberdrola has been planning the farm since 2005, when it built four wind towers to determine the velocity and consistency of the mountaintop wind. It should be operational by late 2011.
Iberdrola already has secured or is seeking leases with private landowners, according to the permit application maps showing five or six property owners hosting windmills.
While operation of a wind farm requires minimal manpower, Iberdrola officials said there are jobs created during the construction.
The project also could benefit the Gamesa blade facility in Cambria Township.
Source of the blades for Dunning Mountain is yet to be determined, but Iberdrola is a major Gamesa customer and currently is using its blades in multiple sites around the country, Copleman said.
Meanwhile, the project has its opponents and has prompted formation of Save Our Allegheny Ridges or SOAR.
Concerns go beyond the vistas and beauty of the mountain and ridge tops, said SOAR chairwoman Laura Jackson of Everett.
“A lot of people are concerned about property values,” she said.
SOAR is pushing for protection for the timber rattlesnake, endangered bats and the golden eagle.
Copleman said Iberdrola takes wildlife issues seriously.
The company is in the process of determining the scope and details of a rattle-snake study to determine impact, he said.
The potential impact on private and public water sources on the New Enterprise side of the mountain, also needs addressed, Jackson said.
The project could also have a potentially negative impact on the Dutch Corner area, one of the first farming communities in the region recently designated a rural historic district, making it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
But Copleman said indications from state agencies are that the wind farm will have no direct impact on the historic district.
The wind energy giant began operation of the Casselman wind farm in Somerset County in February. It is a 23-turbine facility near Garrett.
