Murray Energy Corp., the largest privately-owned coal company in the US, has been quietly funding opposition to the planned six-turbine, 21.7MW Icebreaker Wind project in Lake Erie now under review by utility regulators in the US state of Ohio.

Murray, which is based there, confirmed it had been paying for anti-Icebreaker consulting work and legal fees for two residents in a lakefront community that oppose what would become America’s first freshwater wind facility.