POWER July 2022 - 23

REINVENTION AWARD
1. The repowering of the Pinnacle wind farm
involved removal of the original 23 turbines,
along with installation of new towers and nacelles.
Massive cranes were needed to position
and place the new components atop the
82-meter-high towers. Courtesy: Clearway
Energy Group
the Pinnacle farm. He said there was
a " good resource-strong and consistent
winds on the Allegheny Front, " an
area that covers eastern West Virginia,
southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland,
and western Virginia in the Allegheny
Mountains, and is home to several
wind power installations.
Clearway took advantage of " pro-wind
landowners and affordable, largely undeveloped
land, " said Keyes, along with
policymakers and permitting agencies
" eager to collaborate and bring investment
into West Virginia. "
Repurposed and Recycled
Impacts of the new construction were
minimal, since the repowering occurred
within the Pinnacle farm's existing footprint
of about 2,100 acres. As each old
turbine was decommissioned, a focused
clean-up effort helped remove any remaining
debris from the site.
Clearway said it estimates about 85%
of the materials (by weight) from the
decommissioned turbines were repurposed
or recycled, which yielded about
7,400 tons of steel and 495 tons of fiberglass.
Additionally, about 18,500 gallons
of combined hydraulic fluid and coolant
were recovered. Large amounts of aluminum
and cabling also were recovered
from each turbine.
Some of the turbine components,
including three blades and nine generators,
were repurposed for use at other
wind farms. The scrap metal products
were taken to recycling facilities, mostly
located in West Virginia, Virginia, and
Pennsylvania. The fiberglass blades were
recycled by Georgia-based FibREtech, a
company that specializes in fiberglass/
July 2022 | POWER
carbon fiber waste reclamation, recycling,
and transformation services.
Keyes said the repowering of Pinnacle
did not impact its contracts with groups
buying power from the wind farm. " Clearway
had existing contracts with our customers, "
Keyes said. " Both customers
agreed to extend their commitments with
the repowering, including the Maryland
Department of General Services and another
academic institution. "
Valerie Wooley, vice president of
Origination at Clearway, in a statement
following the repowering said, " This
significant investment in West Virginia's
energy economy would not be possible
without the continued strong and innovative
commitment from our customers,
including the Maryland Department
of General Services. Their ongoing partnership
helps us significantly boost Pinnacle's
efficiency, bolster the reliability
of the electric grid, and continues their
'first mover' legacy of leadership in
securing renewable energy within the
PJM market. "
The repowering also provided Clearway
with the opportunity to extend
its Pinnacle Community Benefit Fund,
which distributes $20,000 annually to
the local community, and has awarded
more than $250,000 since Pinnacle began
operations in 2012. The wind farm
also pays $500,000 in annual property
taxes to support the community, and expects
to contribute $3.7 million in state
business and occupancy taxes over its
extended operating life.
Clearway's commitment to West Virginia
continues; the company in February
of this year announced completion of
the 115-MW Black Rock wind farm, just
months after completing the Pinnacle repowering.
The Black Rock project, which
spans Grant and Mineral counties and
which Clearway said will increase West
Virginia's wind energy output by 15%, is
contracted under long-term power purchase
agreements with Toyota Motor
North America and AEP Energy Partners,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of American
Electric Power. Both those groups are
major employers in West Virginia.
" We value partners like Clearway that
share our vision for improving lives within
communities, including those where
our team members work and live, like
West Virginia, " said Chris Reynolds, chief
administrative officer for Toyota Motor
North America. " Toyota is making significant
investments in and aggressively
pursuing environmental technologies to
achieve our goal of carbon neutrality at
www.powermag.com
POWER POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ Clearway is the largest taxpayer in
Mineral County. The 54-MW wind
farm contributes $500,000 in annual
property taxes and will contribute
$3.7 million in state business and
occupancy taxes over its extended
operating life.
✔ The Pinnacle repowering created
more than 50 union jobs during
construction and will support a
dozen ongoing local workers to
operate and maintain the site.
Pinnacle Wind draws workers
from the local community college,
Eastern West Virginia Community
and Technical College, which
formed a partnership with Clearway
to create a pipeline of local wind
energy professionals.
✔ Clearway extended its Pinnacle
Community Benefit Fund, which
distributes $50,000 each year to the
local community, and has awarded
more than $250,000 since Pinnacle
began operations in 2012.
✔ An estimated 85% of the
materials (by weight) from the
decommissioned turbines were
repurposed or recycled, yielding
about 7,400 tons of steel and 495
tons of fiberglass, in addition to
about 18,500 gallons of combined
hydraulic fluid and coolant that
were recovered. Significant
quantities of aluminum and cabling
were also recovered from each
turbine.
our manufacturing facilities by 2035. "
Clearway said the Black Rock project
created more than 200 union jobs
during construction and nearly a dozen
permanent operations jobs, including
through a partnership with Eastern
West Virginia Community and Technical
College to hire program graduates
and workers displaced from the coal
industry. Black Rock joins both Pinnacle
and Clearway's Mount Storm projects
in Grant and Mineral counties. Mount
Storm, which has operated since 2008,
is a 264-MW installation with 132
Gamesa G80 wind turbines. ■
-Darrell Proctor is a senior associate
editor for POWER.
23
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POWER July 2022

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