Community
Most wind development projects are initiated by the wind developer. The Coal River Wind project is different in that the community saw the wind potential and had the studies done to validate the potential for a wind farm on Coal River Mountain. Since then the community has led the way in the campaign, meeting with the consultants who wrote the economic report, drafting a community letter of resolution for the project, having a citizens’ lobby day in the capitol in support of the resolution to support Coal River Wind, and speaking with the media, even CNN.
Many community members have taken part in a participatory mapping project currently underway by Aurora Lights. When completed, the website will feature interviews, photos and videos of people living around Coal River Mountain sharing their experiences and feelings about Coal River Mountain. The result of that project will be available in June, but there are some community interviews put together by Chad Stevens here.