By Fred Pace
Gary Anderson of Colcord says he is not against coal mining.
“My father was a coal miner for 37 years,” Anderson said Tuesday at Tamarack in Beckley during the release of a study comparing wind energy to mountaintop removal mining.
Anderson says blowing the tops of mountains “just isn’t right.”
Along with Anderson, Coal River Mountain Watch and other activists are trying to stop a mountaintop removal mine operation on Coal River Mountain. They spoke at a press event to promote construction of wind farms in southern West Virginia and to unveil a study done by Downstream Strategies of Morgantown.
“This report confirms that developing a wind farm on Coal River Mountain is the best way to diversify the local economy,” said Lorelei Scarbro, Coal River Mountain resident and community organizer for the wind campaign.
Scarbro says the study shows wind development is a better economic option for all of southern West Virginia, not just Coal River Mountain.
According to the study, a 164-turbine wind farm on Coal River Mountain would generate 328 megawatts of electricity and $1.7 million in taxes for Raleigh County.
In contrast, environmental activists say, a mountaintop removal mine planned by Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy would produce only $36,000 per year in severance taxes on coal.
“Mountaintop removal mines on Coal River Mountain would be more profitable for private landholding and coal mining companies, but it is not defensible from the perspective of Raleigh County citizens,” said Evan Hansen, president of Downstream Strategies.
However, Hansen says a wind farm has greater economic benefit to residents when health and environmental issues are considered.
“Our analysis confirms that a wind farm would produce greater economic benefits to the citizens of Raleigh County when health and environmental externalities are included in the analysis.”
If the top of Coal River Mountain is blasted off, Hansen says it won’t be commercially viable for a wind farm.
Anderson, who says Coal River Mountain is just behind his home in Colcord, wants Gov. Joe Manchin to reconsider permits issued to Massey to use mountaintop removal mining to extract the coal.
“If they can put a wind farm on Coal River Mountain and mine the coal underground, then that’s what they should do,” he said. “If this study shows that a wind farm is better for the economy than mountaintop removal, then Gov. Manchin should do what he can to make that happen.”
— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com
