New coal war on the horizon?

[vec101]

Thanks for the heads up on this article - was out of state with no TV, internet, or newspaper so would have missed this.

OK, they totally lost me with

a wind operation in the area would provide more jobs and tax revenue than a mountaintop removal mine. The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - News - 14 cited in protests at Massey operations*

Activist groups are promoting construction of 220 2-megawatt wind turbines on Coal River Mountain ridges. A wind study, funded by North Carolina-based Appalachian Voices, concluded the spot is a good location for a wind farm. The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - Mining the Mountains - Wind-power benefits would outpace coal, study suggests*

At first figured they wanted to "save" the land - no, they want to build windmills. Wonder how much the windmills in Tucker Co has helped them with jobs, revenue, etc?

I'm all for more efficient ways to use coal and other improved methods of producing energy (coal won't last forever) but windmills are NOT the answer. I wish the windmill proponents would climb on top of one and fly away.

[David Kennedy]

I think the windfarms will be the junkyards of the future...like the satilite dishes and old refrigerators of the past...when they are replaced by tiny nuke generators, they will lay in waste on private property and be unrecoverable...

After WW-2...thousands of planes were parked in junkyards in the west...some are still there...

Wind Farms? sounds so quaint...will make a few Texans richer...and make the mountains ugly.

The futures energy technology is here...small, portable nuke reactors...coming from England not America..

[millersangel]

Originally Posted by vec101

Thanks for the heads up on this article - was out of state with no TV, internet, or newspaper so would have missed this.

At first figured they wanted to "save" the land - no, they want to build windmills. Wonder how much the windmills in Tucker Co has helped them with jobs, revenue, etc?.

They are. They're trying to stop a MTR project by offering a viable alternative. Heard on the news last night there was a hearing and the decision will be announed later this week.

One of the major problems with the blasting here is that it is near a HUGE impoundment pond.

Anyone remember Kingston, TN? Wasn't that long ago.

I'm all for more efficient ways to use coal and other improved methods of producing energy (coal won't last forever) but windmills are NOT the answer. I wish the windmill proponents would climb on top of one and fly away

Here is a link to photos of the windmill farm in Thomas, WV,

Windmills in The WV Potomac Highlands

And here is a link to photos of MTR.

Mountain Justice - What is Mountain Top Removal Mining?

Take your pick.

I think you live in Bluefield? Did you know they're building a windmill farm on East River Mountain? And take a drive into the coal fields and then talk to me about MTR.

Btw, MTR is almost completely mechanized. It is taking away mining jobs while laying waste to the surrounding areas. Even coal miners are opposed to it.

The windmill farm people are not going away. The new administration is investigating and promoting new green energy. Coal just will never fall into that category.

It's time to think outside the box and I'm glad someone finally is. Our dependence on non renewable energy has got to end, IMHO. For our children, the health of the planet and the impact on our pocketbooks in the long run.

There are plans to upgrade the power grid to so that solar, wind and hydroelectric will work efficiently.

And here is a link to the latest cutting edge technology.

Wireless Electricity

As for nuclear energy, there's a little problem with what to do with all that radioactive waste. And one accident and you end up with a Three Mile Island or worse, a Chernobyl.

[vec101]

Joe's (Gov Manchin) State of the State Address yesterday:

Tonight, I am introducing a bill, called the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act, which will put West Virginia at the forefront of new energy development. It sets a realistic timeframe for us to develop alternative and renewable energy resources.

Beginning in 2015, at least 10 percent of the electric energy sold to electric customers must be generated by alternative or renewable energy sources. And, by 2025, we will require that 25 percent of electricity sold in West Virginia must be generated from alternative or renewable energy facilities.
Our bill will provide incentives to locate new alternative energy facilities in West Virginia, which will encourage the development of renewable energy resources and create jobs in the Mountain State.
.... With the growth of wind technology, by recycling waste heat from our industrial facilities, by cultivating biofuels like switchgrass, by harnessing the power of our rivers and the sun, and by expanding our clean coal efforts, we can meet our energy needs, create new jobs and improve our environment at the same time.

........Today we have the technology to generate electricity at our own homes and businesses, but there has been little incentive to invest in this technology because there is no way to get credit for the power you return to the electric grid.

My alternative and renewable energy bill will also require electric utility companies to provide net metering to residential, small business and industrial customers who generate their own electricity. This bill also requires the Public Service Commission to expand the availability of net metering to West Virginia electric customers.

It will encourage private investment in renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, biomass, hydropower, waste heat recovery and even landfill gas. It is another step toward expanding our state's energy portfolio.

........ We can't simply abandon the way we live and generate electricity, but we must find newer and cleaner ways to produce energy with the abundance of resources we already have.
It will take investment and research. We are on the verge of discovering cleaner, greener ways to use coal and we can continue to be a low-cost producer of energy if we believe in ourselves and embrace our energy expertise.
......... One new technology that has promise is carbon capturing. West Virginia can be at the forefront of this experimental method of capturing the carbon dioxide that comes from burning fossil fuels by finding ways to add value to this waste stream.

This week I will present a bill that will allow for permits for carbon sequestration projects. It will establish regulations for monitoring carbon sequestration sites and clarify ownership of the space in which the carbon is stored. Carbon sequestration is not the only solution to controlling power plant emissions, but we should explore its potential. ...........

Text of Gov. Joe Manchin's State of the State Address - The Herald Dispatch

Oh I HATE those windmills - support other methods but like DK said, I can just see those windmills rusting away on top of the mountains in the not too distant future. But bet lots are coming - easiest and quickest immediate method. Oh woe is we.

[millersangel]

I like Joe.

I've always said he lacked vision but that speech demonstrates otherwise. I tried to watch it on TV but because of the storm the Channel 6 lost the satellite feed. So thanks for that link. I was going to try to find it online today.

I think the windmills look kind of cool myself. There's a farmer here outside of town who put one up. I went up and took photos of it while running around with the goats and sheep. He does get paid for what he puts into the power grid so I didn't understand that part of the speech.

I actually worry more about switchgrass. We've all seen these kind of plants turn into invasive species.

Right now, there isn't much innovation to go on because nothing has been done in research and development in the past so we have to go with what we've got.

That might change in the future.

But given a choice of saving a mountaintop by putting a windmill farm on it or blowing it off, I'll take the windmills. At least the mountaintop is still there.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

I think the windfarms will be the junkyards of the future...like the satilite dishes and old refrigerators of the past...when they are replaced by tiny nuke generators, they will lay in waste on private property and be unrecoverable...

After WW-2...thousands of planes were parked in junkyards in the west...some are still there...

Wind Farms? sounds so quaint...will make a few Texans richer...and make the mountains ugly.

The futures energy technology is here...small, portable nuke reactors...coming from England not America..

GIS technology is used to properly site wind farms. The tecnology is best used out on the High Plains, and they are expanding exponentially there. Enough wind is out there to potentially power 1/3 of all US electricity demands. Blade technology is constantly getting more advanced as well as MW capacity.

[vec101]

Life is so complex Giggle Giggle
Natural Resources Defense Council jumps from one side to the other regarding coal.

Late last year, the influential Natural Resources Defense Council helped sponsor ads ridiculing coal-industry ads boasting about progress toward cleaning up coal. "In reality, there's no such thing as clean coal," said a print version of the ad.

But last month, the NRDC, along with the Environmental Defense Fund, another prominent group, hosted workshops advocating more spending on clean-coal research. The rationale: Coal will remain a crucial fuel for decades, so it makes sense to try to clean it up.
Green Movement Also Fights Itself - WSJ.com

[vec101]

I'm all for improved methods of energy but HATE those windmills and they don't generate enough energy to be of great value.
House squashed plans - good.

The House has apparently killed a resolution supporting development of a wind farm on the site of a planned mountaintop removal mine.

Activists with Coal River Mountain Watch have been pressing Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy to drop its mining plans in Raleigh County in favor of a wind farm. http://www.dailymail.com/News/statehouse/200904100222

Oh boy, that would have added a lot of jobs to the community.

[vec101]

Heard that the National Fox News Network was in Chas today - they are doing a show on coal.
Heard Carl Cameron was on Hoppy's show (I missed it).

Heard he's been doing a 3 day series on Coal on Bret Baier's Special Report 6-7 PM on Fox news channel. Third one is tonight.

I had missed all of this. Anyone have any links to watch it?