A representative from AES provided the Barbour County Commission with an updated timeline for the wind turbine project and requested commissioners pass a resolution to appoint a company to conduct a decommission study to determine the cost to take the windmills down when the time comes.
AES Vice President Bob Muir told commissioners that construction for the 65 wind turbines should begin next spring and be complete by fall. Muir said all appeals protesting the project have been denied and the company is finishing the final permit stages before construction begins.
"Things at this point are on track to being in the spring, probably in March or maybe April with the expectation of the entire project being completed by next Thanksgiving," Muir said. "That's when the 200-plus people get their chance to work on it and shortly after that each of the counties get their share of the tax revenue."
Prior to construction, Muir said the Public Service Commission requires both Barbour and Randolph counties to appoint an expert to calculate how much it would cost to take down the turbines and remove them. He said the amount determined would be recalculated every five years and the net cost for removal would be kept in a separate account.
"Now that we have received our Public Service Commission order and permit to proceed, there is a list of things that we need to do before we begin construction," Muir said. "One of those is to prepare a decommissioning report to calculate the exact cost of removing the turbines, if in some event business did not continue and we chose not to do it ourselves. We are obligated to do that and we would."
Muir said AES is currently surveying the exact locations where the wind turbines will be situated. He said a path has been cleared along the proposed route and core sampling of the ground where each foundation will be placed would be taken next.
Barbour County Commissioner Tim McDaniel said the Barbour and Randolph County commissioners should schedule a meeting and discuss what company to hire to prepare the decommission report. He said the decommission resolution could be adopted at the next commission meeting.
"We need to meet with the Randolph County commissioners and talk to our legal council to make sure the resolution is all in tact and the wording is proper because it will effect down the road," McDaniel said. "Just like the mining industry, a lot of it in the earlier days was not reclaimed properly and I think this is almost that type of deal. So down the road, if something happens or they find a better way to produce wind power and these are done away with the land will be reclaimed and the structures will be taken down. I think we just want to make sure we protect our interest down the road."
In other commission news, E-911 Director Larry Allen told commissioners construction of the new E-911 is "moving along well." He said ground breaking for the center began on Sept. 2 and the building is about 18 percent complete. Commissioners approved a drawdown of $231,372.50 to pay for the construction progress and also passed a motion to order the new communications tower.
Commissioners also passed a resolution declaring October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
