To comply with the terms of a lawsuit settlement, Maryland-based Beech Ridge Energy is seeking a 25 year permit for its wind farm in Greenbrier and Nicholas counties. Beech Ridge has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a permit that would allow the "incidental take," or killing, of endangered bats that might fly into its turbine blades. The existing 67 turbines and another 33 that are planned could harm Virginia big-eared and Indiana bats. Beech Ridge built 40 turbines before a federal judge in Maryland ruled that it had failed to obtain the necessary permit. The Washington, D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute and the Williamsburg, West Virginia-based Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy had sued both Beech Ridge Energy and its parent, Chicago-based Invenergy LLC, in 2009. Fish and Wildlife is taking public comment through October 23rd on the company's proposed habitat conservation plan and an environmental impact statement. The permit application is the third of its kind in the nation.
