How the Pinnacle wind farm grant application works
A wind farm can carry a duty to the community around it for as long as it keeps turning, not just once at construction. Clearway Energy Group made that duty for the Pinnacle Wind Farm, a 54 megawatt wind farm in Keyser, West Virginia, in Mineral County. Clearway started the Pinnacle Community Benefit Fund in 2012 with an initial 60,000 dollar contribution, then committed 20,000 dollars a year after that. Grant applications for the 2026 round must be postmarked no later than September 26, 2026.
An Allocation Committee decides which nonprofits get the money each year.
We work every year to distribute 20,000 dollars to as many projects and organizations as possible that are solving problems and making positive change in our community.
Cindy Pyles, chair of the Pinnacle Community Benefit Fund Allocation Committee. Source 1.
We are honored to support organizations that provide important services and improve the quality of life in Mineral County.
Jim Cookman, president of the US Wind Force Foundation and a partner at Laurel Renewable Partners. Source 1.
What the money bought last time
The most recently completed round shows what the annual 20,000 dollars actually buys. In December 2024, an 8 member Allocation Committee chose 16 grants from 31 completed applications, totaling 19,800 dollars, with individual awards from 400 to 3,000 dollars. Mineral County Schools received 3,000 dollars for washers and dryers. Keyser Area Youth Soccer received 2,000 dollars for a commercial refrigerator and freezer. The Keyser Mineral County Public Library received 400 dollars, the smallest grant in the round, for computer monitors and headphones.
The 2024 round funded 16 grants in total. These 3 are the ones the release named in full.
Show the numbers
| Mineral County Schools | 3,000 |
| Keyser Area Youth Soccer | 2,000 |
| Keyser Mineral County Library | 400 |
How much each Pinnacle grant round has distributed
The annual amount has stayed close to 20,000 dollars for more than a decade. The tenth round of the program, in December 2020, gave 11 grants totaling 21,000 dollars from 22 applications, and brought the fund total at that point to 232,775 dollars. The round completed in December 2024 gave 19,800 dollars, and brought the Pinnacle fund alone to 314,068.24 dollars given out since 2012. The round that opened in August 2026 committed 20,000 dollars again.
The 2020 and 2024 totals are what each round actually distributed, from sources 3 and 2. The 2026 figure is the amount committed for the round that opened in August 2026, from source 1.
Show the numbers
| 2020 round | 21,000 |
| 2024 round | 19,800 |
| 2026 round | 20,000 |
Where the combined total stands now
Clearway also runs a second, sister community fund at its nearby Black Rock Wind project in Grant and Mineral counties, launched in 2022. Combined, the 2 funds have given more than 660,000 dollars to local nonprofits, according to the release Clearway published announcing the 2026 round. Clearway separately repowered the Pinnacle turbines, work it says created 50 construction jobs under a project labor agreement. It says the upgraded machines now deliver nearly 16% more clean power than the originals, and that repowering raises the tax payment the project makes to the county by up to 200,000 dollars in the first year of repowered operation, part of an estimated 3.7 million dollars in West Virginia business and occupancy taxes projected over the life of the project.