Press Release

Harrisburg - Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Chairman Glen R. Thomas will give the keynote address at the dedication ceremony for the new Somerset and Mill Run wind farms in Somerset and Fayette counties, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Exelon-Community Wind Farm at Somerset, just off Exit 10 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Chairman Thomas also will help to turn on the 213-foot-tall Somerset wind turbines -- which have 115-foot blades -- that will be visible from the event site.

The ceremony will follow a 10 a.m. tour for media and ceremony participants.

The two new wind farms marketed by Exelon Power Team and Community Energy Inc. will help to nearly triple the amount of wind energy in the Eastern United States, supplying about 63 million kilowatt hours of emission-free electricity annually, enough to power 8,200 Pennsylvania homes.

Pennsylvania is the leader in wind energy in the Eastern United States. Chairman Thomas will hail the wind farms and the growth of renewable energy in Pennsylvania as yet another positive result from Pennsylvania having the No. 1 electric-competition program in the nation. Nearly 120,000 Pennsylvanians now use "green power" -- more than any other state.

Gov. Ridge named Thomas as PUC Chairman on June 22.

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Directions to the Dedication Ceremony from Points East or West: Take the Pennsylvania Turnpike (76) to Exit 10, Somerset. After getting off the Turnpike, go straight through three traffic lights. At the fourth light, turn left onto Main Street. At the next light, bear right onto Plank Road, which eventually becomes 219 South. Go about five miles, and turn left onto Beachley Hill Road. Beachley Hill Road will take you directly to the wind farm, where you can follow directional flags to Turbine No. 1, the location of the dedication event.