Gamesa cancels 60MW US project

UNITED STATES: Uncertainty in the US market has forced Gamesa to cancel plans to build a 60MW wind farm in Pennsylvania.

The project would have used 2MW turbines

The 30-turbine Shaffer Mountain wind project in Somerset County, in the south of the state, was projected to come online in 2013.

In a statement, a Gamesa spokesman quoted a "combination of factors, including uncertainty surrounding federal policies" for the decision.

However, the project has also come up against local opposition and a struggle to obtain approval from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Permitting started in 2007 with construction originally set for the same year.

Earlier this year, Gamesa was forced to reapply for Federal Aviation Administration permit after the previous one expired.

Permitting was reviewed last year after an Indiana bat was found dead at a nearby project. It is claimed the bats' migratory route would have taken them past the Shaffer project.