Highland man appointed to wind study committee WASHINGTON, D.C. After three years of calling for effective environmental assessments for siting wind projects, Highland resident Rick Webb learned this summer that the prestigious National Academy of Science will undertake an objective review of wind energy nationwide. He was even more pleased to learn recently that he will play an important role in that process.
 | | Monterey resident Rick Webb, a research scientist at the University of Virginia, has been appointed to the National Academy of Science committee charged with studying the benefits and potential impacts of industrial wind energy. Congress requested a 20-month study from the National Academies, with a focus on the mid-Atlantic region. |
|
Webb became one of 14 experts appointed to the committee charged with the task. Its a real honor for me, Webb said this week. I dont know who nominated me, but I think I bring together a focus on ecosystem impacts of both wind energy development and traditional fossil-fuel energy sources, together with the ability to look objectively at where to site (wind projects).
Greg Symmes, deputy executive director of the Division on Earth and Life Sciences at NAS, says the study was congressionally mandated stemming from a request from Sen. Mollihan in West Virginia, who has been outspoken, too, about the need for proper assessment. The idea is to really look at wind energy both benefits and potential negative consequences, Symmes said Tuesday. We are not in the business of making policy. When a full report is generated by the committee, a 20-month process, Symmes said it will be submitted to Congress, and from there its up to the federal government on how the information is used. In this case, I could see certain states making new policies … This is a tough issue. While wind can be cleaner, there are negative consequences to wildlife as well, and landscape issues.
Symmes said the committee is planning to hold two of its meetings at wind utility sites. Its important for (committee members) to hear from the people who live in areas with wind projects, he said.
Webb, a research scientist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, joins 13 other men and women with high-level credentials to review both the benefits and costs of wind energy development in the U.S.
When Highland New Wind Developments plans for a 39-megawatt wind energy facility here began to unfold, Webb was one of hundreds who opposed the project. My opposition has been based simply on the lack of environmental assessment. Thats it. I would be opposed to any industrial development in our remaining wild areas without environmental assessment.
HNWDs request for a permit to construct and operate 18 to 22 turbines in westernmost Highland County was approved 2-1 on July 14. Conditions on the permit include the requirement that all state and federal regulations be met before a building permit is issued. When HNWD applies for a certificate from Virginias State Corporation Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality will spearhead reviews. Webb, who has worked extensively with natural resource agencies for years, believes the SCC and DEQ may not have the resources for adequate assessments, especially since this is the first wind plant approved in Virginia.
An NAS committee, he says, should be able to provide meaningful guidelines for wind energy development. Ive been calling for careful evaluation since the first commercial wind facilities in the Appalachian region were planned, Webb said, and I believe this is a real step in the right direction.
During the committee selection process, all nominees were asked to explain any information that might show a conflict of interest or lack of objectivity, Webb says. I shared everything I wrote, and everything Ive said.
But Webb has had his detractors, among them Mitch King, owner of Old Mill Power Co. Kings company is a member of the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative at James Madison University with which Webb worked on development of a land classification map for siting wind turbines. My reaction is that hes too close to the Highland County project … Im not sure how objective he could be, King told The Recorder this week. He says Webb continues to say endangered species at HNWDs project site are well-documented, but hes never produced any documents. I think he has too much vested in it to bring objectivity to this on a national level.
King says Webb has never offered an acceptable solution to traditional energy sources and has even praised the Mt. Storm power plant, claiming that coal is the preferable energy source.
Webb says King misinterpreted a comment he made about the coal-fired plant during a VWEC presentation. Ive spent my professional career studying the problems with coal as an energy source. This is a very significant issue for me … I care deeply about that, he said, referring to the acid deposition caused by many fossil fuel plants. Coal use has been tragic in terms of harm to the environment and to people.
Before he came to Highland, Webb lived in an area of West Virginia damaged by coal companies. His experience there led to Webbs interest in pursuing scientific study on the issues, culminating in a masters degree from U.Va. in environmental sciences.
As projects coordinator of the Shenandoah Watershed Study and the Virginia Trout Stream Sensitivity Study, coupled with his expertise in biogeochemistry, Webbs primary focus is on the effects of air pollution on streams in the central Appalachian region hes been studying for 25 years.
Most recently, Webb served as an expert witness in two major Clean Air Act cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency against two midwestern power companies Illinois Power and Ohio Edison. Settlement agreements will result in installation of $500 million in pollution-control equipment in one, and $1.1 billion in measures to reduce air pollution in the other the largest settlement of its kind so far.
I have a very acute awareness of the problems of traditional sources of energy, and an understanding of the ecological impacts, Webb says. Even if Virginia developed its wind energy potential to the fullest, I cant find any way its going to reduce coal use. Its almost inconceivable.
Webb notes there is currently a campaign to require Virginia utilities to purchase 15 percent of the electricity used in the state from renewable sources. Our real problem, Webb says, is our continually increasing demand for electricity. If the current rate of growth continues, a 15 percent requirement could result in as many as 5,500 turbines occupying 700 miles of ridgeline, and even with that we would still need a very large increase in electricity generation from other sources.
Webb looks forward to serving on the committee and contributing his expertise on air pollution. As scientists, we will attempt an analytical approach for finding siting criteria for wind projects. I have been outspoken about the need for environmental review and so far we have no reliable process … Im determined to approach this with scientifically rigorous review. I do not believe in distorting information for advocacy purposes. In the long run, if were not objective, were not going to contribute to solutions, Webb says.
The committee will function under the auspices of the National Research Council, which is the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Congress directed the National Academy of Sciences to develop an analytical framework for evaluating effects that can help in siting decisions. The process is expected to last nearly two years and result in an in-depth report.
The NAS says this committee will carry out a scientific study of the environmental impacts of wind-energy projects, focusing on the Mid-Atlantic Highlands as a case example. The members will consider impacts on landscapes, view sheds, wildlife, habitats, water resources, air pollution, greenhouse gases, and materials-acquisition costs, among others.
The National Academies are advisors on science, engineering, and medicine chartered by Congress in 1863 under president Abraham Lincoln. The academies, according to the NAS, perform an unparalleled public service by bringing together committees of experts in all areas of scientific and technological endeavor. These experts serve pro bono to address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public.
The National Academies were created by the federal government, but all its associated organizations are private; they are usually funded out of appropriations made available to federal agencies.
Other members of the committee studying wind energy include: Dr. Paul Risser, a two-time university president whose research specialties have included the effects of climate on plants and landscape ecology who will serve as its chair; Dr. Ingrid Burke, a Colorado State University professor; Christopher Clark, director of the bioacoustics research program at Cornell; Dr. Robert Dean, professor of civil and coastal engineering at the University of Florida; Dr. Mary English, research leader at the University of Tennessee; Sidney Gauthreaux, Clemson professor of biological sciences with a Ph. D. in ornithology; attorney Sherri Goodman, general counsel at the Center for Naval Analyses Corp.; John Hayes, Oregon State University professor with a Ph. D. in ecology and evolutionary biology; Arpad Horvath, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley; Thomas Kunz, professor of biology at Boston University; Lynn Maguire, associate professor of environmental management at Duke; Erik Lundtang Peterson, head of the wind energy department at Riso National Laboratory in Denmark; Lance Manuel, professor in civil engineering, University of Texas; Karl Rabago, renewable energy group director with the Houston Advanced Research Center; Dale Strickland, vice president and senior ecologist, Western EcoSystems Technology Inc.; Jean Vissering, landscape architect studying issues of scenic resource evaluation in Vermont; and Robert Whitmore, professor of wildlife ecology at West Virginia University.
| 
