Maryland wind power project denied; judge says it will have negative impact on rural community - Entrepreneur Generations

Cumberland, Md. (Best Places map)

Lawyers for wind power developer Dan's Mountain Wind Force LLC last week filed an appeal to an "administrative law judge's denial of its plans for a 17-turbine project atop Dan's Mountain, southwest of Cumberland, Md.," reports The Associated Press. "Chief Public Utility Law Judge Terry J. Romine issued a proposed order in January that said the project's potential benefits were outweighed by its negative effects on those living near the site. The order would have become final Saturday. The developer has argued that the project is a public necessity that will create jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue."

Romine said the project did “not justify or offset subjecting the local community to the adverse impacts that will result from the wind project’s construction and operation," Robert Bruce reports for the Los Angeles Times. "The judge’s ruling probably spells the end of an eight-year battle that pitted local homeowners and Allegany County against the developer of the 60-megawatt project."

The judge said "the project's potential benefits on Dan's Mountain are outweighed by the negative effects on the community south of Cumberland," reports the Cumberland News-Times. "The project was blocked by land-use restrictions but the developer was seeking to convince regulators that the wind farm is a public necessity."

Romine wrote: "Overall, in weighing the benefits against the adverse impacts that are unable to be mitigated . . . I find that the benefits that may accrue to the public at large by construction of the wind project do not justify or offset subjecting the local community to the adverse impacts that will result from the wind projects construction and operation."

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2lUkGf7 Maryland wind power project denied; judge says it will have negative impact on rural community - Entrepreneur Generations

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