The winds are blowing up a storm over the future of wind
turbines in the mountains.
A rapidly changing bill to permit wind turbines in the mountains
was altered by several co-sponsors to now feature a ban on all
wind turbines in western North Carolina. The bill is in committee
today before going to a Senate vote.
New constructions of wind turbines could be banned if
a bill currently in the N.C. Senate is passed.
The original bill introduced on March 31, co-sponsored by N.C.
Sen. Steve Goss (D-Watauga), was designed to set up a permitting
process for wind turbines and to specifically exclude them from
Ridge Law provisions. However, the bill was altered by several
senators on its way to the Senate Agricultural, Environment and
Natural Resources Committee to effectively ban all wind turbines
on ridge tops.
Dennis Scanlin, who oversees wind research at Appalachian State
University, said the proposal threatened not only future wind-energy
development but a project installed two weeks ago on the university
campus that is one of the largest wind turbines in the Southeast.
“Their stated intent is to ban all wind development in western
North Carolina,” Scanlin said. “I think we need to control
and regulate all technology. I think the original bill protected
against inappropriate development. I haven’t seen anyone
opposed to small wind turbines. I don’t think these senators
are in touch with their constituents.”
Goss said he was caught off guard by the changes, as the original
version of the bill introduced on March 31 made minor changes
to the Ridge Law. He said he favored county governments developing
their own regulations, as has been done in Watauga and Ashe counties.
“If this bill as proposed over the weekend is adopted, we
will have to close down our Beech Mountain research facility,
as far as I know,” Scanlin said, adding it would also threaten
research funds included in federal stimulus package. “Western
North Carolina has some of the best wind resources in the United
States and we could definitely generate some of our energy from
it.”
One last-minute change Tuesday morning appears to exempt research-related
wind turbines on university campuses. Goss is concerned about
the loss of federal funding if the ban is instituted.
Goss also questioned the timing of the proposal, as the legislature
is exhausted from tough budget deliberations. “I have some
real issues with the timing of the bill right now,” Goss
said. “We have people with strong views on either end of
the spectrum. I certainly don’t want to see it banned altogether.
There’s an answer in between, and I’ll be asking a lot
of questions.
“I certainly want to protect the mountains, but we can’t
have it both ways. We need to pursue alternative forms of energy.
We saw what happened when we turned a blind eye to the energy
crisis of the 1970’s.”
Goss said the state should regulate how technology is used, but
said counties should have influence on how their own communities
look. “There are some strong voices wanting to prohibit wind
energy,” he said.
Coastal wind turbines are also getting scrutiny under the bill,
and Goss acknowledged there were still a number of hurdles in
making wind energy a significant factor in the state’s energy
supply, including the transmission infrastructure. He said that
was where research became important. “I’m impressed
with what ASU is doing,” he said.
Scanlin said he worried about the lack of notice on an important
bill that was poised to rush toward a full legislative vote.
“I just learned about it on Friday,” Scanlin said. “What
was so underhanded about it was they secretly changed it from
a bill permitting wind turbines to a bill banning them. It’s
definitely political. It’s gotten very political.
“They didn’t change the name of the bill but they basically
tried to change it to eliminate wind energy in the mountains,”
he said. “Steve Goss is the only senator I’ve spoken
to from western North carolina who is for responsible wind development.”
ASU erected a $530,000 wind turbine last month as a research project.
The 120-foot tower features blades that are 30 feet long and produces
about enough energy to operate 15 average-sized homes. The turbine
is visible from many areas of Boone at its location near the Broyhill
Inn & Convention Center.
Get Firefox