Pinnacle Wind Farm’s 2020 Grant Application Now Open for Area Nonprofits
Community Benefit Fund to distribute $20,000 in grants administered by US Wind Force Foundation
Keyser, WV – US Wind Force Foundation, Inc. today announced that it is accepting applications from qualified nonprofits for grant funding from the Pinnacle Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund. Pinnacle Wind Farm is indirectly owned and operated by Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”).
The Community Benefit Fund was established to provide locally-controlled financial resources for worthy “bricks and mortar” community projects in the communities immediately surrounding the 55 megawatt, 23-turbine Pinnacle Wind Farm located on Green Mountain near Keyser, West Virginia. Grant applications must be postmarked no later than Saturday, October 12, 2019.
The US Wind Force Foundation, through this Community Benefit Fund, has awarded more than $191,000 in grants to local community organizations since the wind farm was completed in January 2012.
Pinnacle Wind Farm was developed by the predecessor company to regionally-based Laurel Renewable Partners, LLC. Pinnacle Wind voluntarily committed to donate $60,000 to the Community Benefit Fund at the start of commercial operations in 2012 and $20,000 per year for the life of the project. Clearway also owns Black Rock Wind, a proposed wind farm in Grant and Mineral counties, and expects to launch an additional Community Benefit Fund for Black Rock in the future.
“This is a continuation of a long-term relationship between the foundation and the communities surrounding the wind farm,” said Jim Cookman, President of the US Wind Force Foundation and partner in the wind energy development company, Laurel Renewable Partners. “We appreciate the community’s broad support for the project, and Clearway Energy’s continued support for the community.”
The grant applications will be subject to a rigorous review process by an Allocation Committee made up of Mineral County residents. “It’s rare to see companies give local control over donated money. I’m proud to serve on the committee and I remain confident in the other members of the committee,” noted Cindy Pyles, Chair of the Allocation Committee.
To learn more about the Pinnacle Community Benefit Fund and the grant application process, please visit the foundation website www.uswff.org. The grant application form is also available on the foundation website at http://www.uswff.org/forms/USWFF_Grant_Application.pdf.