LAUREL MOUNTAIN
OperatingWind power plant
- Capacity
- 130 MW
- Primary fuel
- Wind
- County
- Barbour County
- Operator
- AES WIND GENERATION INC
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2011
- EIA plant ID
- 57447
- Generators
- 2
- Technology
- Onshore Wind Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 241 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 24%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 39.0250, -79.9356
LAUREL MOUNTAIN, a 130 MW Wind power plant in Barbour County, West Virginia. Operated by AES WIND GENERATION INC, commissioned 2011.
How LAUREL MOUNTAIN compares
With 130 MW of capacity, LAUREL MOUNTAIN ranks 13th among the 31 operating power plants Bywatts maps in West Virginia and 2nd of the 5 operating Wind plants in the state. It accounts for about 21% of West Virginia's operating Wind capacity and 0.8% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 173rd-largest of the 708 operating Wind plants in the database. Commissioned in 2011, it is newer than 87% of the 31 operating West Virginia plants with a recorded commissioning year.
EIA-860 lists 2 generators at the site with 114 MW of nameplate capacity, mainly onshore wind turbine technology (this page's HIFLD capacity figure is 130 MW). Net generation was 241 GWh in 2024 (a 24% capacity factor), up 22% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The nearest named substation is PRUNTYTOWN (500 kV), about 23.6 miles away; the closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 138 kV line owned by MONONGAHELA POWER CO, about 0.8 miles away. One other operating power plant sits within 25 miles: MOUNTAINEER WIND ENERGY CENTER (66 MW, Wind).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant, substation and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
LAUREL MOUNTAIN is a 130 MW wind power plant in Barbour County, WV, operated by AES WIND GENERATION INC, commissioned in 2011. Barbour County carries elevated modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 3.1 of 5 at the 53rd national percentile. Riverine flooding is the leading peril, rated Relatively Low by FEMA at the 94th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a wind plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Barbour County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Low | 94th | 4.8 of 5 | 1.4 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 71st | 3.9 of 5 | 13.8 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 70th | 3.8 of 5 | 45.3 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 62nd | 3.5 of 5 | 1.8 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 56th | 3.2 of 5 | 0.01 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 46th | 2.8 of 5 | 1.0 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 26th | 2.0 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Ice storm | Very Low | 25th | 2.0 of 5 | 0.09 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 17th | 1.7 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 16th | 1.6 of 5 | 0.04 |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 14th | 1.6 of 5 | 0.53 |
Perils not assessed in Barbour County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Barbour County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.