Somerset County Leads State In Generation of Clean Power

February 02, 2002

By John Luciew Of The Patriot-News

SOMERSET - Old mine workings, strip sites and rusting hulks of cranes testify to the tons of carbon that have been ripped from the earth here in order to feed furnaces and fire steel mills. Yet in this monument to older and dirtier fuels stands a symbol of the cleaner, more environmentally friendly possibilities of the future -- windmills.

Over the past two years, Somerset has quickly but quietly become Pennsylvania's leading generator of wind energy.

There are 14 state-of-the-art windmills operating in the county, each generating enough electricity to power about 2,500 homes for a year. And just over the county line in Fayette County, there are 10 more windmills, with dozens more being planned around the area.

"Traditionally, coal has been a very vital part of our economy," said Hank Parke, executive director of the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce. "Now, we are starting the new millennium with energy created by the wind. It's a neat metamorphosis."

But how did the home of energy's past become the cradle of its future_ Somerset's high elevation of 2,400 to 2,700 feet above sea level, and its infamous windy, wintry weather make it the perfect place for windmills.

The county boasts an average wind of about 17 mph, more than enough to keep the 110-foot-long blades spinning. But it turns out that Somerset's history as a coal producer helped, too. The abundance of electric substations, once used to power the coal digging equipment, are now used to relay energy produced by generators in each windmill to the tri-state power grid.

The most prominent of the local windmill projects is clearly visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The sight of the sleek, towering windmills has caused thousands of motorists to take notice and has prompted more than a few to stop off in Somerset for a closer look.

The free advertising was happenstance. But wind energy producers hope the visibility will do more than make people curious. They want people to switch to wind-generated electricity.

"The exposure helps," said Gary Verkleeren, who manages 16 windmills for Zilkha Renewable Energy of Houston, which co-owns them with Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp. of Washington. "People see them and say, 'hey that's a good thing.'"

So far, most of the energy generated by these 16 windmills is being sold to institutional users, such as Penn State, Carnegie-Mellon and University of Pennsylvania, as well as businesses such as the regional grocery chain Giant Eagle.

But a separate operation in Garrett, Somerset County, is selling all of its electricity to Green Mountain Energy, an environmentally friendly company that then sells the power to household consumers.

Under Pennsylvania law, consumers can select their electric suppliers. However, to make the switch, users must be prepared to pay about 2 cents more per kilowatt for wind-generated power.

The proliferation of wind farms have been good business in other ways, too.

Farmers like Bill and Tomalee Will in Somerset and Donald and Irene Decker in Garrett get to supplement their agricultural income by striking lease and royalty agreements with the wind energy companies, which have been scouring the Somerset countryside looking for tracts with good wind and plenty of open space. As many as 20 more windmills are planned in Somerset alone.

"We're the only family in Pennsylvania milking cows next to windmills," said Bill Will. "It's a way to make a little extra money, and it doesn't take much of your land. It does not disrupt your way of farming."

In fact, Will is convinced the breeze from the windmills helps dry his hay quicker. Decker, meanwhile, sports T-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with a "Decker Wind Farm" logo. Green Mountain has established a visitor's center at the base of the farm, and a local craft store is selling hand-carved miniature replicas of the 215-foot-tall windmills.

The windmills have even turned into a science project at local schools. There have been field trips and classroom lectures and slide shows by wind company engineers.

But not everyone welcomed the windmills. Some neighbors don't like the constant whirring of the blades. Others feared they would kill birds. Will checks for that, but so far has only come across a few dead bats.

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