20% BY A Windfall for Coal Country? ExploringFP the Barriers to Wind Development in Appalachia Brent Bailey Evan Hansen Holly Groschner Rory McIlmoil Laura Hartz Jen Shaver Anne Hereford The Mountain Institute Appalachia Program 235 High Street, Ste. 706 Morgantown, WV 26505 www.mountain.org Downstream Strategies 295 High Street, Ste. 3 Morgantown, WV 26505 www.downstreamstrategies.com June 25, 2012 A Windfall for Coal Country? Exploring the Barriers to Wind Development in Appalachia Brent Bailey, Evan Hansen, Holly Groschner, Rory McIlmoil, Laura Hartz, Jen Shaver, Anne Hereford ABOUT THE AUTHORS Brent Bailey, Ph.D., Director, Appalachia Program, The Mountain Institute. Dr. Bailey directs the Appalachia Program at The Mountain Institute. He has more than 20 years' experience in forestry, natural resource management, environmental education, and local community development on three continents. Evan Hansen, M.S., Principal, Energy Program, Downstream Strategies. Mr. Hansen founded Downstream Strategies and has 20 years of experience as an environmental consultant on energy, greenhouse gas, and water resource issues for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private businesses. He has developed and applied computer models; provided training and expert testimony on issues related to environmental laws, policies, and permits; and led multi-disciplinary research teams. Holly Groschner, J.D., New Mountain Wind. Ms. Groschner has made her career at the interface of development and regulation in the utility sector, working to find common ground among publicly traded companies; local landowners; and federal, state, and municipal governments. Ms. Groschner received her J.D. from Vermont Law School, served as a law clerk for the Honorable Louis J. Peck at the Vermont Supreme Court, practiced law as a partner at Vermont’s largest law firm, and served as senior vice president at a publicly traded company in Pittsburgh. She works from Pittsburgh and Corinth, Vermont. Rory McIlmoil, M.A., Project Manager, Energy Program, Downstream Strategies. Mr. McIlmoil has a background in environmental science and policy with a focus on the analysis and presentation of scientific and economic data relevant to environmental policy and energy development. He has three years of experience working on energy and economic policy issues relevant to Appalachia. Laura Hartz, M.S., Project Manager, Land Program, Downstream Strategies. Ms. Hartz researches science and policy related to energy, agriculture, and the environment. She brings a strong background in federal policy analysis, technology and sustainability, and natural resource and environmental economics. Jen Shaver, J.D. Ms. Shaver received a Master of Studies in Environmental Law (M.S.E.L.) from Vermont Law School and a J.D. from the Appalachian School of Law. She served as law clerk for the Honorable Patrick R. Johnson, Circuit Court Judge of the 29th Judicial Circuit of Virginia and was an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in the Russell County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. She now works for the Virginia Gas Owners Litigation Group. Anne Hereford, M.S., Project Environmental Scientist, Downstream Strategies. Ms. Hereford has a background in environmental science, with diverse experience in GIS development, watershed planning, permit research, aqueous geochemical modeling, data analysis, water monitoring, and science education. ii | P a g e ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was supported by grant DE-EE0000509 from the United States Department of Energy’s 20% Wind by 2030: Overcoming the Challenges Program to The Mountain Institute. We gratefully acknowledge this support. The JOBS Project’s Eric Mathis and Jenny Hudson contributed substantially to the development and implementation of this project. We thank our Advisory Committee. Christine Risch (Marshall University) and Brad Stephens (Stephens Law Office) provided very valuable edits to the draft report, and Larry Flowers (Principal Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and Buzz Belleville (Appalachian School of Law) provided helpful guidance to the project. Our work was helped considerably by the many people who provided data, information, and perspectives: Bobby Baloski (Cambria County Conservation District, Cambria County, Pennsylvania), Dan Boone (Independent Environmental Consultant), Lowrey Brown (Senior Policy Analyst, Western Resource Advocates), Elizabeth Byers (Project Ecologist, West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources), Kerry Campbell (Manager, Division of Energy Policy and Technology Deployment, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection), Chris Caffyn (Senior Energy Developer, Community Energy, Inc.), Lisa Daniels (Executive Director, Windustry), Josh Framel (Project Manager, Gamesa Energy), Andrew Gohn (Clean Energy Program Manager, Maryland Energy Administration), Sue Jones (President, Community Energy Partners), Neil Joshipura (Division of Energy Regulation, Virginia State Corporation Commission), Pam Kasey (Reporter, The State Journal), Ken Landgraf (Forest Planner, Jefferson National Forest and George Washington National Forest), Earl Melton (West Virginia Public Service Commission), Jessica Morey (Project Director, Clean Energy Group), John Moskal (New England Region Energy Team, United States Environmental Protection Agency), Kelly Ostertag (Member Relations, PJM Interconnection, LLC), Hugh Rogers (President, West Virginia Highland Conservancy), Kate Shanks (Director of Renewable Energy, Kentucky Energy & Environment Cabinet), Dirk Shulund (Project Manager, Transmission Tariff Coordinator, Western Area Power Administration Upper Great Plains Region), John Shupp (Division of Engineering, Electric Branch, Kentucky Public Service Commission), Charlie Smith (President, Utility Wind Integration Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Matthew Stoltz (Manager Transmission Services, Basin Electric Power Cooperative), Eric Supey (Environmental Program Manager, Northeast Regional Office, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection), Kim Van Fleet (Important Bird Area Coordinator, Audubon Pennsylvania), and Erick Walker (Acting Manchester District Ranger, Green Mountain National Forest). DISCLAIMER This report is accurate as of November 2011, when it was finalized. Even though wind development has continued since then, the authors believe that the fundamental conclusions and recommendations stand as written. iii | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS ........................................................................................................... IX 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2. ELECTRICITY, WIND, AND COAL IN APPALACHIAN COAL COUNTRY ................................................................ 7 2.1 WEST VIRGINIA ................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 PENNSYLVANIA ................................................................................................................................................ 10 2.3 MARYLAND ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 VIRGINIA ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 2.5 KENTUCKY ...................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.6 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 3. GEOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................ 26 3.1 MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN OF APPALACHIA ............................................................................................................. 26 3.2 LIMITED INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 ABUNDANCE OF WIND RESOURCE ON ECOLOGICALLY VALUABLE LAND ......................................................................... 28 3.4 LAND AND MINERAL OWNERSHIP ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.5 SUMMARY: BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS ................................................................................................................. 31 4. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ......................................................................................................................... 32 4.1 REGULATORY REVIEW PROCESSES IN EACH STATE .................................................................................................... 32 4.2 SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES........................................................................................................................ 34 4.3 SUMMARY: BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS ................................................................................................................. 37 5. POLICY ........................................................................................................................................................