PINEWOOD WIND PROJECT PROFILE
Pinewood Wind is sited near the intersection of Pulaski, Floyd, and Carroll Counties, on land owned by the Blue Ridge Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Currently in the research phase, Pinewood Wind provides the opportunity to address Virginia’s growing electricity demand with safe, clean renewable energy while diversifying the regional economy and helping the Blue Ridge Mountain Council’s scouting tradition continue for generations to come.
Apex is working with the Boy Scouts, local landowners, community leaders, and various stakeholders on the project and welcomes input into the planning process. Located in a remote area of southwest Virginia the project site has these key attributes:
PROJECT SUMMARY
- Project size: Up to 180 MW (anticipated)
- Enough energy to power up to 52,000 U.S. homes
- Existing high-voltage power lines and highways would limit the need for extensive new infrastructure
- Power will be delivered into the Virginia electrical grid
- Hundreds of jobs and significant local spending during construction
- Up to 12 full-time jobs created for operations and maintenance
- Would represent a significant investment in the local economies, with revenues for property owners, local government services, and schools for 30 years
WHY Southwest Virginia?
Pinewood Wind will represent a significant private investment in Pulaski, Floyd and Carroll counties, boosting the local economy in the near term with construction jobs and local purchasing of materials and services. In the long term, the project promises to bring sustained tax revenue to the county for the local government and schools, as well as 30 years of local purchasing, employment, and investment.
The project site was selected by Apex Clean Energy after a thorough examination of many candidate sites within Virginia for the following reasons:
- Verified wind resource
- Existing high-voltage power lines
- Expansive private land
- Proximity to state highways
The project is expected to inject millions of dollars into southwest Virginia's economy to support local merchants, contractors, and equipment suppliers.
WIND ENERGY FOR RURAL AMERICA
The cost of wind energy has dropped more than 50% over the past five years, providing a cost-competitive source for clean electricity across the nation. Wind powers the equivalent of 25 million American homes each year.* Wind energy comes with many benefits, including reduced pollution, increased domestic employment, consumer cost savings, water conservation, nationwide availability, and increased community revenues.** Wind turbines complement working farms and rural land, because they allow for existing agricultural or recreational operations to continue around them. They also help rural economic development by diversifying the local economy and providing a consistent stream of recurring revenue.
*AWEA, Wind Energy Facts at a Glance, 2019
**Department of Energy, Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States, 2015