Animal Kingdom, Blue Ridge Mountains, Environment, Green Sustainability, Nature, Wind Power »

Our official stance – We support Wind Energy in North Carolina.

Back in July we posted NC Don’t Ban Wind Power .   There have been some opposing comments that do to their nature and misinformation we have struggled to approve.  We have approved the comments for view in hopes that the debate surrounding this issue remains open and educated even though we might strongly disagree.

We have responded to each comment and would like to share our most recent response with you.

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.

Economy, Environment, Events, Film, Green Sustainability, News, Photography, Uncategorized, Videos, Wind Power »

Here’s a short video we cut together from the Warren Wilson College 2009 Mountain Green Sustainability Conference. We decided to open up a dialog with vendors, speakers and attendees asking a simple question, “What does green mean to you?”.

Join in the Conversation:

Share a short video asking you, your friends and family, “What does green mean to you?”
Email your answer, video, or link to hi@WeAreGreen.tv

Related and Suggested Posts:
Mountain Green Sustainability Conference

Environment, News, Uncategorized, 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.

1. 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!”
2. 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.
3. 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!

Environment, Green Design, News, Technology, Wind Power »

The Evolution of Wind Energy – Small, Silent & Bird Friendly!

Windspire is a new approach to wind power. Small, silent and affordable, the 30 foot high Windspire installs easily to capture wind energy in more places – from homes and businesses to large energy projects.

Working with wind from all directions, Windspires can also be grouped together to give you the power you need, without tall towers and within zoning guidelines. Windspire’s flexibility provides more options so you can take control faster of your rising utility costs.

From a sculptural wind garden to a micro-wind farm, Windspire offers tested performance that is comptetitive to traditional wind turbines with lower installation costs and minimal maintenance. Whatever your energy goals, it’s all easier to achieve with Windspire.

For more information, download the Windspire Brochure

Press Release – Windspire Wind Turbine Installed at ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

Stay Tuned – Just Days Away: New bluesunrenew.com Website Launch Coming!
http://www.bluesunrenew.com

North Carolina, contact Blue Sun Renew Representative, Bob White at 828.230.3580 or bobwhite@bluesunrenew.com.