The Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is shown on Backbone Mountain near Thomas, W.Va., in this July 9, 2003. The windmill farm, the largest east of the Mississippi River, has 44 turbines atop 228-foot-tall towers that produce enough energy to power 22,000 homes. A study of the Mountaineer wind farm estimates that at least 1,364 bats were killed there during a six-week period last year. The June study was conducted by the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative, which includes the wind power industry, Bat Conservation International and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Such concerns come as Shell WindEnergy Inc., a subsidiary of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2005, announced an agreement to buy a West Virginia wind power project from NedPower Mount Storm LLC. (AP Photo/Dale Sparks)