** FILE ** The Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is shown on Backbone Mountain near Thomas, W.Va., on July 9, 2003. On Thursday, March 1, 2007, a state hearing examiner recommended construction of the first utility-grade wind farm in Virginia, provided it meets conditions to minimize harm to the environment. Mountaintop neighbors of the 217-acre site near the West Virginia border fear the whirring blades on 400-foot-tall towers will kill rare and endangered birds and bats that frequent the remote area.(AP Photo/Dale Sparks)