Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Blog - Jay Ferguson

Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Blog - Jay Ferguson
EVERYTHING under the sun about Deep Creek Lake, Maryland! Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Information, Local News & Happenings in Garrett County Maryland, Current Events, Local Business Profiles, Upcoming Attractions, Vacation Rentals, Resort Realty, Community Profiles, Homes for Sale, Restaurants & Dining, Entertainment Schedules, Festivals & Gatherings, Churches & Charities, Wisp Ski & Golf Resort, Swallow Falls State Park, Youghiogheny & Casselman River, Garrett County Fair & more!
Showing posts with label wind farms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wind farms. Show all posts

Monday, April 2, 2012

Lawmakers poised to give officials wind farm regulatory power

House advances Garrett legislation

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

2012 — OAKLAND — The Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee has advanced a bill that would give the Garrett County commissioners the authority to enact ordinances relating to setbacks and the decommissioning of wind turbines, according to a news release.

“This is a very large step towards providing some safeguards for the citizens of Garrett County,” Delegate Wendell Beitzel said.

The companion measure to H.B. 747, sponsored by Sen. George Edwards, has been unanimously approved by the Senate. The two legislators have sponsored measures to give local governments authority to regulate wind turbines during the past several sessions. However, this is the first time that the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have approved the measures relating to Garrett County.

“Senator Edwards and I sought to put these protections in place prior to windmill development on Garrett County’s mountaintops. With passage of this bill, the commissioners will have authority to establish setback and decommissioning provisions for wind turbine projects. I applaud my colleagues for recognizing the need for this very important legislation,” said Beitzel.

Both measures must now be approved by the House and Senate by midnight April 9, when the 2012 legislative session ends.

During the Draft Land Management Ordinance work session in March, the county commissioners discussed an ordinance that would call for wind turbine setbacks of 2,000 feet from a residence, church, school or other occupied structure and 1,000 feet from a property line. The draft ordinance also addressed a decommissioning agreement requirement.

A third Draft Land Management Ordinance work session will be held April 10 at 10 a.m.

The two proposed wind turbine projects at St. John’s Rock and Four Mile Ridge are progressing. Eleven agreements have been recorded and executed with property owners for wind turbines on the St. John’s Rock ridge, according to Jim Torrington, chief of the Garrett County Permits and Inspections Division. In February, a metrological tower permit was issued to Synergics Wind Energy LLC for a tower along St. John’s Rock Road. Synergics has proposed 24 wind turbines.

The next step in the county permitting process would be a grading permit, according to Torrington, who noted that for the first wind project (Roth Rock) it took Synergics 18 months to get a grading permit. However, since Synergics has already been through the process, Torrington thinks that the process will be smoother and take less time. Gestamp Wind North America of Houston now owns the Roth Rock project.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

More here.


Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

2 more wind farms eyed in Garrett County, Md., home to state's first such projects

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: September 20, 2011 - 12:15 am

McHENRY, Md. — Wind-power developers are considering two new projects in western Maryland.

The Garrett County Commissioners are set to hear an update Tuesday.

County officials say Clipper Windpower is considering a project called Fair Wind on Backbone Mountain south of Oakland. It would be just south of a 28-turbine wind farm Clipper built that is now owned by Constellation Energy Group. The company, based in Carpenteria, Calif., didn't respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Monday, August 8, 2011

Constellation Energy opens 70MW Criterion Wind Project

(08/08/2011)

Constellation Energy has officially opened the 70MW Criterion Wind Project. It is the first wind facility to be built and operated in Maryland, and consists of 28 wind turbines constructed over an eight-mile stretch along Backbone Mountain in Garrett County. The facility will produce enough renewable energy to meet the electricity needs of approximately 23,000 households.

Criterion Wind began commercial operation in December 2010. The facility produces energy that is sent to electric transmission lines owned by Allegheny Energy, which serves western Maryland. Energy produced by Criterion Wind is sold to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase the energy and renewable energy credits produced by the facility. Old Dominion is a nonprofit wholesale power provider serving public electric cooperatives in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

“Criterion Wind is good for the environment and good for the economy,” said Kathleen W. Hyle, senior vice president, Constellation Energy, and chief operating officer, Constellation Energy Resources. “This new facility is part of Constellation Energy’s ongoing efforts to increase private-sector investment in renewable energy resources, helping Maryland meet its environmental goals and drive much-needed job growth. We’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership with the local community. Constellation is committed to being a good neighbor and corporate citizen.”

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Saturday, August 6, 2011

enXco Signs O&M Agreement For Roth Rock Wind Farm

by NAW Staff on Friday 05 August 2011

enXco Service Corp. (eSC), an EDF Energies Nouvelles company, has signed a long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with Roth Rock Wind LLC for its 50 MW wind project located in Garrett County, Md.

The project, owned by Gestamp Wind North America, consists of 20 Nordex Wind N90 turbines, each with a rated capacity of 2.5 MW. Of the 130 GWh of annual production, 80% will be delivered to Delmarva Power, with the remaining 20% going to the state of Maryland and the University of Maryland.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
877-563-5350 - toll free

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Of wind, heat and snakeheads

Back from a week at the beach, what did I miss? Wind farms, snakeheads and more dead zone news, it seems. Didn't manage to miss the blistering heat, though. But it was about five degrees cooler at the shore than in B'more, according to the weather reports - which were about all the news I regularly consumed on my vacation.

Constellation Energy belatedly celebrated the completion last winter of Maryland's first commercial wind power facility on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County, The Sun reported. The ribbon-cutting drew a handfull of protesters complaining that the 28 massive turbines kill bats and mar the scenic ridgetop vistas there.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Constellation Energy: A Different Kind of Farm

Maryland's First Wind Farm Celebrates Opening
By Brianna Panzica
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

On Tuesday, Constellation Energy (NYSE CEG) celebrated a big project in Maryland.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Constellation’s Criterion Wind Project, the very first wind farm in Maryland, was held on location in Garrett County.

The wind farm extends eight miles across Maryland’s Backbone Mountain, near Oakland.

It consists of 28 wind turbines with a production capacity of 70 megawatts of renewable power, enough to power around 23,000 homes.

More here.
If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.
Questions about real estate? I can help! Call me!
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wind farm officially open

Demonstrators protest at Garrett County ribbon-cutting ceremony
Kristin Harty Barkley
The Cumberland Times-News Tue Jul 19, 2011, 11:51 PM EDT

OAKLAND — A ceremonial ribbon-cutting for Maryland’s first commercial wind farm was punctuated by protesters, who stood holding signs outside the entrance of the $140 million facility.

About 50 community members and government officials celebrated the project’s completion with speeches and a catered meal Tuesday morning atop Backbone Mountain, where the massive blades of some of the farm’s 28 wind turbines rotated slowly in a steady breeze.

Constructed by Constellation Energy, the facility is expected to produce enough renewable energy to meet the electricity needs of 23,000 households in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, said Dale Linaweaver, a managing director. Commercial operations at the wind farm actually began in December.

“I don’t think there’s an energy source that everyone likes,” said Linaweaver, who, like other participants in Tuesday’s ceremony, had to drive past protesters to get to the event. “Even our solar projects, some people are fighting right now. But (wind) is certainly an important part of the energy mix.”

About a dozen citizens stood along Eagle Rock Road holding signs criticizing the wind project on a variety of points. “Wind Turbines Kill Bats,” one sign said. “Tax Money — In the Wind,” said another.

“These projects would not exist without our money,” said Jeff Conner, who lives on a farm about 20 miles away. He said that the turbines compromise his “million-dollar view.”

“They’re not self-sustaining,” Conner said of industrial wind projects. “They’re using my tax dollars for this.”

Members of Save Western Maryland, which filed a lawsuit against Constellation Energy last year over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, indicated Tuesday that they have agreed to delay a trial until 2012 to allow the company time to obtain necessary permits. The group claims that wind turbines pose a threat to the endangered Indiana bat.

“Although we continue to hope that Constellation will fulfill its duties in good faith, the history of the Backbone wind plant does little to inspire confidence,” Save Western Maryland said in a press release.

Construction at the wind farm site was temporarily halted in March when the Maryland Department of the Environment found violations related to inadequate or improperly installed erosion and sediment controls.

Constellation addressed the violations and revised its site plans and was allowed to proceed with construction shortly thereafter.

During Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting event, officials pointed to some of the wind farm’s positive impacts on the local community. At the peak of construction last year, about 200 people were employed, with more than half classified as local hires, according to the company. The plant now has nine permanent employees, including manager Don Shilobod, who has bought a home in Oakland.

“Constellation’s been a good community partner, a good corporate citizen, since they’ve been here,” said Garrett County Chamber of Commerce President Nicole Christian, who attended the ribbon-cutting. The company was a sponsor of the annual Oakland Winterfest, the Fourth of July fireworks, and Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine festival, Linaweaver said.

“We hope that they’ll continue to be a good corporate citizen," Christian said.

“It’s a little bit noisy, but we’ve gotten used to it,” said Martha White, who lives on Bethlehem Road and has four wind turbines on her property. “We’re both on disability, and we were having trouble paying our bills, so this has been a good thing for us.”

But another area resident, Eric Robison, said Constellation Energy hasn’t been a good neighbor. Robison, a member of Save Western Maryland, organized a sign-making event early Tuesday morning to protest.

“It’s to not just allow them to have their grand opening and flaunt this in the community’s face, without having somebody at least saying something,” said Robison, who lives just outside the wind farm on Eagle Rock Road, in regard to the demonstration. “And we’ve been saying something all along.”

Maryland Delegate Wendell Beitzel acknowledged the protesters during brief remarks at the ribbon-cutting celebration, saying he “understands the concerns of those who are for it and against it.”

“The windmills are here now," Beitzel said. “They’re in place and they’re operating, whether you like them or don’t like them. We’re going to live with them.”

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kbarkley@times-news.com

More here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.
877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Constellation celebrates launch of W. Maryland wind farm

By Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun

7:54 a.m. EDT, July 19, 2011
Constellation Energy is throwing a party late Tuesday morning in Garrett County to celebrate the launch of Maryland's first electricity-producing commercial wind farm. The project's 28 massive turbines rise along an eight-mile stretch of Backbone Mountain and can be seen for miles.

Although Baltimore-based Constellation began producing power from the turbines in January, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is a formal acknowledgement that the $140 million renewable energy project is up and running, a company spokesman says.

"It was an opportunity to reach out to the people and groups and communities that helped us achieve this," Constellation spokesman Kevin Thornton said. "It is the first wind farm that's gone commercial in the state of Maryland."

Read more here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.
877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the 'I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group' on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Delmarva Power wants land-based wind power supply from PA not MD

Delmarva Power wants land-based wind power supply from PA not MD
May 24, 2011

By Mark Eichmann

Power company wants state approval for agreement with Synergics Eastern Wind Energy to move land-based wind farm from western Maryland to central Pennsylvania. The agreement moves the wind farm about 75 miles, and company officials say it will allow the wind power supply to start sooner. Synergics is expected to take ownership of the new Chestnut Flats wind farm is located in Blair County, Pennsylvania later this year.

In 2008, the Delaware Public Service Commission approved a 20-year contract between Synergics and Delmarva Power fo wind energy and renewable energy credits.

Read more here.
If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.
877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the 'I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group' on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Maryland Wind Projects Face Pressure From Environmental Groups

by Mark Del Franco on Thursday 13 January 2011

Maryland's first two wind projects are facing mounting pressure from environmental groups that insist the developers are endangering the Indiana bat, a creature listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Save Western Maryland and the Maryland Conservation Council are urging Constellation Energy and Synergics to obtain incidental take permits (ITP) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the environmental groups are planning to sue in federal court to make the developers comply.

Save Western Maryland has brought suit against Constellation Energy in a U.S. District Court in Maryland, claiming that turbines on the 70 MW site in Garrett County, Md., will injure or kill Indiana bats.

Claims of turbines doing harm to Indiana bats made national headlines last year. Some environmental groups forced Chicago-based developer Invenergy to halt construction on a West Virginia wind farm because it failed to obtain an ITP. Invenergy later settled the case and subsequently secured its permit.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Moving Forward to a Clean Energy Future

TheBaynet.com

Clean energy is becoming a reality in Maryland. Last month, Maryland's first commercial scale wind energy farms officially began contributing to the state's electric grid. The Criterion and Synergics wind projects, both in Garrett County, will together generate 120MW of clean, renewable energy—enough to power 40,000 homes.

Next week, the University of Maryland will inaugurate Maryland's largest solar power installation, a 2.2MW facility located on their Lower Eastern Shore campus, which was built by Maryland-based SunEdison. In addition, the State of Maryland, through the Maryland Energy Administration, has provided more than 2,600 grants to Maryland residents and over 50 grants to Maryland businesses and local governments seeking to do their part to reduce our state's dependence on costly fossil fuels by generating clean, renewable energy at home.

As a result of these efforts and Maryland's goal to produce 20% of the state's electricity from renewable energy by 2022, the amount of solar installed in Maryland has soared five-fold in the last two years and is expected to double again in the next six months.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Looking back - and ahead - B'more Green Blog



January 3, 2011

Looking back - and ahead

As we start a new year, it's worth looking back at the big news of the past year - if only because many of those developments will resonate through 2011 and for years to come.

So here's my list of the top 10 green stories of 2010:
...
4) Wind gets a push offshore, and lawsuits on land: The prospects for giant turbines eventually catching the sea breezes off the US East Coast grew last year, with pushes from the Obama administration and from states like Maryland. The Interior Department set up a "fast track" approval for offshore wind leases, and in November invited bids for placing turbines a dozen or more miles off Ocean City. The state's first two industrial wind projects got built on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County, but conservationists filed suit alleging the turbines would harm endangered bats.

Read the full article here

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Which bat is which?

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Tue Dec 28, 2010, 07:50 AM EST

— SWANTON — A biologist with the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service said Monday that it is so difficult to distinguish hibernating Indiana bats from little brown bats that there is uncertainty about the number of the former in Garrett County’s John Friend Cave.

That cave is mentioned in a federal lawsuit complaint as having a robust population of the federally endangered Indiana bats. The recently filed suit asks the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to delay the startup of Constellation Energy Group’s wind turbine project on Backbone Mountain until the company obtains an incidental take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Constellation has hoped to begin operating the 28-turbine Eagle Rock project at the end of this month. Spokesman Kevin Thornton said the company has been in contact with the federal wildlife agency and is in the process of applying for the permit.

“In John Friend Cave we haven’t had a substantiated record of the Indiana bat for a long time,” said biologist Dan Feller. “But unless we go pluck every bat off the wall and spread the wings and look for the color of the hairs at the base of the fur it is hard to tell. We generally say they are little brown bats, but there could be Indiana bats in there.”

Feller enters Maryland’s bat caves once each winter to count the animals. He said John Friend Cave is among the top five locations in the state with an average of 300 various bats.

At Crabtree Cave, near the Savage River Reservoir Dam and about 10 miles from the wind turbine site, Indiana bats were observed swarming outside the cave in the autumn in the 1990s, according to Feller. “We have no substantiated records of Indiana bats at Crabtree since then,” he said.

Feller said radio tracking studies have shown that Indiana bats, mostly females and young, use Maryland forests and ridge lines during the summer.

“One study tracked an Indiana bat from a hibernaculum in central Pennsylvania to Carroll County, Md., 120 miles away,” Feller said. “We know that Backbone Mountain is within 100 miles of a number of Indiana bat (caves) in West Virginia.”

The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit are the Baltimore-based Maryland Conservation Council, the council’s Vice President Ajax Eastman, the Oakland-based group Save Western Maryland and D. Daniel Boone, Bowie, an environmental activist.

Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Constellation and other wind energy developers, said Monday that the start-up of the Eagle Rock project is imminent.

“The turbines have already been pushing power, but it has all been for required testing,” Maisano said. “It is about to start up.”

Maisano said the lawsuit may delay the project, but is unlikely to stop it. He said other wind energy projects such as one in Greenbrier County, W.Va., have been faced with the same roadblock, but were able to move forward after obtaining the take permit, which, in essence, accounts for the killing, injuring or perturbing of bats.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Environmental groups sue to block wind farm



By: The Associated Press 12/23/10 9:19 AM
The Associated Press
.
FILE: Giant wind turbines are powered by strong prevailing winds near Palm Springs, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) Some conservationists have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the startup of Maryland's first industrial wind farm because it allegedly threatens federally protected Indiana bats.

The complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt seeks to stop Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group Inc. from beginning operation of its 28 turbines on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County unless the company first obtains an "incidental take permit" from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any Indiana bats that might be hit or injured by the spinning blades.

Constellation spokesman Kevin Thornton said the company has consulted with federal wildlife officials and is in the process of applying for the permit. He said a study is under way to determine what harm the turbines might do to the endangered bats, and Constellation hopes to have federal approval by spring.

A similar lawsuit brought in the same Greenbelt court last year forced developers of a West Virginia wind project to reduce the number of planned turbines after the judge ruled that Indiana bats hibernating in the area almost certainly would be harmed by the blades. The West Virginia developer also agreed not to operate the turbines at night or at times of year when the bats would be flying until it obtained federal permits.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/nation/2010/12/conservation-groups-sue-block-md-wind-farm#ixzz19VfaRV7d
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Maryland Wind Farms Nearing Completion

by Mark Del Franco on Tuesday 23 November 2010

The first Maryland wind power projects are nearing completion and are expected to begin commercial operation by the end of the year, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesperson.

Two Garrett County, Md., wind projects are expected to begin commercial operation in a matter of weeks, even as opponents consider taking legal action against the facilities.

Constellation Energy is nearing commercial operation of a 28-turbine wind project, which is slated to become commercially operational by the end of December. Synergics will also begin testing a 20-turbine wind farm atop Maryland's Backbone Mountain.

However, heavy opposition could mean delay, as opponents are considering legal action under what they claim are violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Save Western Maryland, an environmental advocacy group, says the wind projects will adversely affect Indiana bats and Virginia big-eared bats, both classified as federal endangered species.

Despite the opposition, both wind energy projects are big developments for Maryland - a state with no operating wind farms, Maisano says.
"The state of Maryland has been trying to move off its zero for years, and the legislature has been pushing [for the development of wind energy]."

Read the source article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Garrett wind projects to soon generate power

Total of 48 turbines may be operational in December
Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News
Wed Nov 17, 2010, 07:59 AM EST

— OAKLAND — Two Garrett County wind power projects, the first such in Maryland, are expected to begin commercial operation in a matter of weeks, even as opponents consider taking legal action against the facilties.

A 20-turbine wind farm atop Backbone Mountain at Roth Rock is set to become operational by the end of December, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman.

Synergics, the Annapolis-based developer of the Roth Rock project, filed notice with the Maryland Public Service Commission on Nov. 9 that it intended to begin exporting electricity from the facility as early as next week.

Electricity is often generated before a wind power facility officially enters commercial operation, as turbines are tested and systems go online, Maisano explained.

“The project will be undergoing testing, probably in the next two weeks or so,” he said. “That’s why that (filing) is there with the PSC.”

A 28-turbine facility, this one a Constellation Energy project built near Eagle Rock, is also set to become operational by the end of December. But Constellation spokesman Kevin Thornton said Tuesday that it could enter commercial operation as soon as the first week of December.

“We can't say that officially, but it’s going extremely smoothly,” Thornton said. “It’s really been much better than we had even anticipated. The weather has cooperated with us.”

The Constellation turbines are grouped into three sections, and the project will go online one section at a time.

“They’ll just keep spinning, and eventually all 28 of them will be spinning at once,” Thornton said.

But in Garrett County, project opponents are considering pursuing legal action to delay or derail the operation of the wind farms.

Eric Robison, a member of opposition group Save Western Maryland, said Tuesday that they intend to take one or both of the developers to court over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Save Western Maryland previously file letters of intent to sue both Constellation and Synergics unless the developers sought incidental take permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The permit effectively protects developers from violating the Act by creating a plan in advance to deal with the possibility that endangered wildlife could be harmed by a project.

According to the group, the wind projects will adversely affect Indiana bats and Virginia big-eared bats, both classified as federal endangered species.


If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Synergics gives notice of W. Md. wind farm start

OAKLAND, Md.

An Annapolis company has notified state regulators that it plans to begin producing electricity at a western Maryland wind farm.

Annapolis-based Synergics filed the notification with the Maryland Public Service Commission on Monday for the Roth Rock wind farm in Garrett County. Synergics said in the filing that operation is expected to begin in December at the wind farm atop Backbone Mountain near Oakland in Garrett County.

The company is required to give two weeks' notice before electricity production begins at the site.

Homeowners who live near the site had complained to utility regulators, saying the impact on their safety had not been adequately considered.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Maryland coast opened to offshore wind development

By TIMOTHY B. WHEELER
The Baltimore Sun
Related:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/

The federal government on Monday invited bids from wind power developers to place turbines off Maryland's coast, taking the first step toward what could be the nation's largest offshore commercial wind project to date.

The Department of Interior identified a 277 nautical-square-mile area off the state's 31-mile coast for possible leasing, largely accepting the recommendations of a state task force that has been studying offshore wind prospects since early last year. The nearest to shore turbines could be placed would be 10 nautical miles off Ocean City, Md., and 20 nautical miles off Assateague National Seashore.

The announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement was hailed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has made developing offshore wind a centerpiece of his administration's energy policy. His administration has proposed developing one gigawatt of electricity-generating capacity off Maryland's coast, erecting more than 300 commercial turbines in phases.

O'Malley issued a statement calling the federal move "another step forward for Maryland's new economy." His administration has said developing one gigawatt of power offshore could support 4,000 manufacturing and construction jobs, plus 800 permanent jobs to operate and maintain the turbines and related infrastructure.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/08/2408720/maryland-coast-opened-to-offshore.html#ixzz14zKVQDhL

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wind Turbine Rep Issues Correction About Statement

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Oct. 7, 2010


Local Constellation Energy representative David Wagner has issued a correction about a statement he made during an update report he presented to the Garrett County commissioners last Tuesday about his company's Criterion wind turbine project along Backbone Mountain.

As was reported in the last issue of The Republican, Wagner told the commissioners, "As of last week, we had 200 people on-site, and the statistics indicate about 75 to 85 percent of those folks are locals."

After receiving a call from a local resident challenging this statement, Wagner said he reviewed the contractor reports and discovered that his statement was incorrect.

"After reviewing the reports for the months of June, July, and August, the most recent months for which data were available, an average of 64 percent of the Criterion workforce were classified as local employees," Wagner said in an e-mail yesterday. "Local employees include tradespeople hired through the union local, and local non-union and management employees."

He added that throughout the construction phase of the Criterion project, Constellation Energy has made a concerted effort to be up-front, timely, and transparent in its communications with the community and the local government.

"However, my initial calculation of the percentage of the workforce that were local hires was simply incorrect," Wagner said. "I regret this error and apologize for any confusion this may have caused."

Read the article here.

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Saturday, October 9, 2010

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT ISSUES 23 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

States News Service
States News Service
October 7, 2010
The following information was released by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE):

The Maryland Department of the Environment today announced 23 recent major enforcement actions seeking penalties totaling more than $460,000 for alleged violations of MDE requirements for water, air and radiation management, and land.

"The Maryland Department of the Environment's top priority is to protect public health and our environment, and a consistent baseline of enforcement actions prevents further pollution and risks to public health," said MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson. "The vast majority of Maryland businesses that are in compliance deserve to have environmental laws fairly applied across the board."

Water Pollution Enforcement Actions

Title 9 of the Environment Article prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into waters of the State, unless such discharge is in compliance with the terms, conditions, and requirements of a discharge permit.

Earth disturbances that exceed one acre are required to obtain a Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activity from MDE. The Permit requires that an approved erosion and sediment control plan be obtained and implemented and that self-monitoring inspections occur and that a log of such inspections be maintained....

...Synergics Wind Energy, Roth Rock Wind Power Project - Garrett County: On August 25, 2010, MDE issued a Site Complaint and Stop-Work Order to Synergics Wind Energy, LLC and their contractor, White Construction, Inc., for alleged sediment control violations at the Roth Rock Wind Power construction project. The Order required that all work cease except that necessary to implement the approved erosion and sediment control plan. The Stop-Work Order was subsequently lifted on September 9, 2010, following an MDE inspection that confirmed the site had returned to compliance.

Read the rest here.
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!