Carbon officials take no position on wind farm request

Carbon County Commissioners did not go on record either in support of or against a proposed wind farm in Packer Township last week.

A letter by the Packer Township Board of Supervisors Sue Ann Gerhard, Cory Gerhard and Adam Nyer was received by the commissioners on March 8, asking the commissioners to make their position on the project known.

“We would like to advise you of a serious concern which we, as the supervisors of Packer Township, have with the application for the construction of a wind farm within the boundaries of Packer Township,” the letter says.

The supervisors say they were in contact with Broad Mountain Power representatives about the project after the “initial application for approval was filed.”

Since then that application was withdrawn and a new application submitted.

“Initially, the supervisors were led to believe that the turbine height would be approximately 500 feet high. With each subsequent submission, the height of the turbines increases,” the letter states.

The current proposal includes constructing five 452-foot turbines and 16 656-foot wind turbines on the Broad Mountain in the township.

The supervisors then requested the county make a formal announcement “opposing the project and preventing it from reaching fruition.”

The commissioners, following questioning by commissioner candidate Chris Lukasevich, who has made it known at previous commissioners’ meetings that he opposes the project, took no action regarding the request.