Southwest Virginia: from coal power to wind power?

APPALACHIA -- Coal is central to Southwest Virginia's past and immediate future, but another energy source is drawing attention in the central Appalachian coalfields.

As a $1.8 billion coaland biofuel-powered generating plant is being constructed at the eastern edge of Wise County, fields of wind turbines are proposed for the western end, along the Virginia-Kentucky line.

Dominion Virginia Power, which is building the power plant, joined with BP Wind Energy in January to propose the Wise County wind farm and another one in Tazewell County.

Combined, the projects present a potential investment of more than $600 million. Together, they could generate as much as 250 megawatts of power.

"It is widely anticipated that there will be some form of carbon legislation in place in the coming years . . . and I don't think you'll ever see Dominion say we're putting all our eggs in one basket," said Emil Avram, director of generation business development for Dominion Virginia Power. "We need to have a balanced portfolio to keep energy prices stable long-term."

Jim Madden, a BP business developer, said with renewable energy standards on the books in at least 28 states and under consideration at the federal level, 70,000 megawatts of renewable energy will be needed by 2025 -- almost three times what currently exists. Most of that, he said, is likely to come from wind.

"Wind power is still in its infancy," Madden said. "You're going to see a lot more of this nationwide."

Avram said the Dominion-BP partnership is considering other wind sites in Southwest Virginia, but the companies aren't far enough along to announce locations.

Construction of the turbines could begin as early as 2012, Madden said. But first, the projects must dodge at least three potentially fatal flaws:

• Is there enough wind?

• Are there environmental obstacles?

• Is the land itself, where mining has occurred underground, stable enough to support 50 to 100 wind turbines that weigh as much as 150 tons each?

Yearlong studies are under way to answer the questions. If they find positive answers, Dominion and BP will seek local, state and federal approval to start building the wind farms.

It could bring a new energy future to the coalfields, where more than a century of mining has depleted most of the easily accessible coal.

"If we sort of look at how [the Tennessee Valley Authority] brought electricity to Appalachia in the early 20th century, I think there's another phenomenal opportunity just like that today for wind and solar as well," said Jeff Deal, spokesman for Appalachian Voices, a North Carolina-based organization that strongly opposed the Dominion coal plant but supports the wind project and hopes to see more like it.

"You can keep a wind turbine forever, unlike coal, which gets exhausted," Deal said. "The fuel is free."

Local officials said the wind projects would be a boost to the economy of a region that still rises and falls with the boom-and-bust coal cycle.

"We're trying to diversify ourselves and create a situation that would provide jobs for Wise County," said Robby Robbins, chairman of the Wise County Board of Supervisors. "We're very dependent on coal, and we have to have things to take the place of that in the future."

While local officials haven't made projections about the tax revenues a wind project could generate, at the current tax rate a $300 million facility would generate more than $1.7 million a year.

Madden said building the wind turbines would provide 100 to 150 jobs for a period of nine to 12 months, as well as significant work for local contractors. Ten jobs would be created to operate the turbines once the project is complete.

"We're very pleased that Dominion is pursuing wind energy in Wise County," said Fred Luntsford, the Appalachia town manager who also serves as a member of the Board of Supervisors. "We're glad to have them over in St. Paul with the power plant, and we're just as pleased that they're exploring wind energy."

Debra McCown is a staff writer at the Bristol Herald Courier