NC Don’t BAN Wind Power!
PLESE READ : IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
The proposed wind permitting bill, the subject of the first 250 MW Action email, has been changed to the point it would EFFECTIVELY BAN all wind power in Western North Carolina!! Even worse, this bill appears ready for a committee vote this coming Tuesday, evidently taking advantage of this holiday weekend to slip it under the proverbial radar.
- EMAIL – copy and paste these committee member email addresses [ bob.atwater@ncleg.net; don.davis@ncleg.net; david.weinstein@ncleg.net;joesam.queen@ncleg.net; charlie.albertson@ncleg.net; ab.swindell@ncleg.net; John.Snow@ncleg.net] and send a message with the subject “Restore the Wind Permitting Bill, Don’t BAN Wind Power!”
- CALL as many of these members as you possibly can. If we can flood their in-boxes and answering machines with support for the original language by Monday and Tuesday, this irrational, covert effort to ban wind power can be prevented.
- SHARE this post with anyone who you think cares about clean energy, good jobs, environmental protection and will contact these committee members immediately!!!!
Phone Numbers
Austin Allrand 919 733 5876
Bob Atwater (committee Chair) 919 715 3036
Ellie Kinard 919 733 5804
Don Davis 919 733 5621
David Weinstein 919 733 5651
Joe Sam Queen 919 733 5705
John Snow 919 733 5875A. B. Swindell 919 715 3030
The information below is from Dr. Dennis Scanlon, Professor at ASU Boone, who has been actively involved with the Wind Working Group, who developed the original language.
“The NC Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources is set to vote on revised version of Senate Bill 1068, Permitting Wind Energy Facilities in NC, on Tuesday July 7th that will ban all wind energy projects in the NC mountains, driving away jobs, economic benefits, and clean electricity from the region.
The original text of this bill was to clarify that wind turbines 100 kW or below were excluded in the North Carolina Mountain Ridge Protection Act. Wind turbines above 100 kW were excluded from the North Carolina Mountain Ridge Protection Act to the extent allowed by a local county or government. This allowed local governments to decide how to use local resources.
However, the new revised text of this bill states that ” “Tall buildings or structures” include wind turbines for the generation of electricity and wind energy facilities as defined in G.S. 113A-103. “Tall buildings or structures” do not include:
a. Water, radio, telephone or television towers or any equipment for the transmission of electricity or communications or both.
b. Structures of a relatively slender nature and minor vertical projections of a parent building, including chimneys, flagpoles, flues, spires, steeples, belfries, cupolas, antennas, poles, wires, or windmills.windmills when the windmill is a solitary structure and is not used to generate electricity for the public for compensation.”
This will essentially eliminate all wind energy projects in the NC Mountains. Keeping hundreds of new jobs, millions of local economic development dollars, and renewable electricity out of our state.
It is unclear to me how the NC senate can expect our utilities to meet their REPS requirements if they are banning the most cost effective resource?
And its not as if the bill doesn’t protect the environment, viewshed, and ecological habitats that are sensitive in the NC mountains. In fact, in the original bill a permit would not be issued by the state for wind energy projects that “significantly impacted” viewsheds, avian species, and ecological habitats from the following areas, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, State Parks, National Parks, Spruce Fir Habitats, Important Bird Areas, and Natural Heritage Areas.
The original bill protected high recreational areas from wind energy projects by providing state oversight (a permit would be required from the state before any facility could be constructed), while allowing local government to decide how they wanted to utilize local wind resources. In fact, counties such as Ashe and Watagua had already established local guidelines to wind turbines that included requirements for different sizes, and in Ashe County, a height restriction. Other mountain counties are moving forward with wind projects, but I don’t suppose our legislators have bothered to pay attention to what is happening in their own districts.
Come Monday morning, I will personally be contacting committee members, as I am shocked as to how Raleigh has no idea about the feasibility of wind energy in the mountains, and the economic benefits to the communities, residents, and governments that wind energy brings to the places that need it most.
While I strongly supported the original S1068 bill, I stand strongly opposed to the revised version.”
We are totally dumbfounded as to why you would even think to ban something that will only help our economy and environment.
Thank you Ken Wolfe for bringing this to our attention!
Are you kidding, really NC wants ban windpower, have they lost their minds. Are those in office just stupid or selfish/evil?! Ban Windpower and see just how much negative attention you can immediately draw to the state from the rest of the country and the Whitehouse who is currently for renewable energy. Thanks to Windspire, renewable wind energy is now available for residential homes … do not let them ban wind in favor for destroying mountains for coal.
Is there any info on why they are proposing the ban on \tall structures?\
Is there any evidence that turbines are threat to the ecosystem of the Blue Ridge?
If so, how are they different from radio/tv towers?
Is this simply a bill revision promoted by (speculation) lobbyists of power companies?
The language seems very specific without any justification for that intent.
\[windmills are allowed if its]… a solitary structure and is not used to generate electricity for the public for compensation.”
I am from NC and my opposition to commercial wind development is not because of the “view”. It’s because wind turbines actually produce very little energy and are an enormous expense to the taxpayer. The benefits of wind energy have been grossly exaggerated. Wind turbines produce energy on average less than 30% of the time because the wind simply doesn’t blow all the time. Because wind is such an unreliable power source, wind plants must always have some type of back up generation (on stand-by) from other fuel sources that emit pollutants. So nothing is really accomplished. Very little electricity is produced and there is no reduction in emissions. So whats the point in spending billions of tax dollars on a marginally functional technology and destroying the mountains in the process? Do you want power only when the wind blows?
Hi blowout. There is new wind energy that can provide 100% of a homes energy and is bought by the home owner or commercial owner at no expense to the tax payer. Learn more about Wind Spires at http://bluesunrenew.com/bird_safety.html You are right the wind does not always blow, but the sun does not only shine. A combination of Solar and Wind power is a great union … oil and coal are not renewable and no one has yet to figure out what to do with nuclear waste. So my vote is for sun / wind!
wind power for residential homes…
An interesting post by a bloger made me ……
Blowout is right. The damage to our mountains in not worth the tiny bit of energy made by the huge 400+ foot tall wind turbines. We will still need coal and natural gas fired plants. You have to have back up. I am afraid that you have been brain washed by the wind industry. Be careful trusting Dennis Scanlin. He may tell you the view from the Parkway would be protected, etc. He is not telling you the truth. He is pushing for a wind plant in Mitchell County that would be seen from Mt. Mitchell, the Parkway, Pisgah national forest and Grandfather.
The opposition to commercial wind in the Appalachian Mountains is strong and growing stronger. There is now a multi-state coalition to protect the mountains and save the wild areas from idiots whose only “green” is the green lining their pockets.
It is not about the view.
Hi Ridge Protector,
We stand firm on the comments posted by Kiesha Jean earlier. We believe a combination of wind and solar is the right way to go. We’re all for seeing wind turbines versus nuclear power plants and the already proven (very close to home) disaster coal plants can bring to both humans and wildlife. The new bird friendly Windspires are what prompted us to write this post, they only stand 30ft tall which is far shorter than the McMansions that pollute the ridges now. We would much rather see a surge in Windspires versus Turbines but we’re more then delighted to see either.
We do have a great love for the raptors and an even greater love for our children. A Wind Turbine will never produce harmful nuclear waste nor will they ever accidentally leak deadly radiation. A Wind Turbine will also never spill ash into rivers, give workers black lung or trap workers underground.
One out of every 50 Americans living near landfills or ponds used to store ash or sludge from coal-fired power plants has a high risk of getting cancer from drinking water contaminated with arsenic.
So, if you really want to do good … help promote Windspires and stop the ludicrous denial of just how dangerous coal and nuclear power plants are versus wind.
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