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The North Carolina House continues to consider a bill that would ban all commercial-sized wind turbines in Western North Carolina.
Introduced in March 2009, Senate Bill 1068 and House Bill 809 were originally designed to set up a statewide permit process for the construction of wind turbines in Western North Carolina.
However, some N.C. senators debated the aesthetics of commercial-sized wind turbines and agreed on a statewide ban.
After a failed attempt by N.C. Sen. Steve Goss to revert the bills back to their original intent, the long-session legislation was completed in July 2009.
Austin Hall, North Carolina field adviser for Appalachian Voices said these bills stem from the Mountain Ridge Protection Act passed by the N.C. General Assembly in 1983.
The Mountain Ridge Protection Act made it illegal for tall structures to be constructed on ridges over 3,000 feet, with the exception of wind turbines.
Hall said N.C. Sen. Martin Nesbitt took away the exemption, pushing for an overall ban on wind turbines in Western North Carolina.
“What we’re advocating for at Appalachian Voices is a comprehensive and rigorous permitting process for anyone wanting to develop wind energy facilities,” Hall said.
If the bills were to pass, only wind turbines less than 100 feet high and connected only to one home would be allowed, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Web site.
“I think we ought to allow individuals to apply for a permit and trust our elected officials and state scientists to make good decisions about whether or not a permit would be issued,” technology professor Dennis M. Scanlin said, who is in charge of wind research at Appalachian State University.
Though the Broyhill Wind Turbine at Appalachian will not be affected by these bills because it was not constructed on a ridge over 3,000 feet high, the Renewable Energy Initiative on campus is still fighting to ensure a clean energy future for North Carolina.
“REI fears that these bills will inhibit wind energy from becoming a fully utilized renewable resource here in the High Country, which is a shame considering we have some of the most significant wind potential in the state,” Rio W. Tazewell, committee chair of Appalachian’s Renewable Energy Initiative said.
Tazewell is also a senior sustainable development and political science major.
Tazewell said Boone sets a precedent for other areas around the state and in the country, so it is important to continue advocacy for clean energy.
The bills are currently in short-session legislation and will be brought up for consideration again in May.
Clean energy advocates argue:
• wind power in that small fraction (over 3,000 feet) of the state’s mountains was critical to the state’s renewable energy mix.
• wind power on just 5 percent of N.C. ridges could create, conservatively, 800 MW of capacity
• this figure represents two-thirds of North Carolina’s land-based wind potential, and 20 percent of the renewable energy required under North Carolina’s renewable energy standard
Source: environmentnorthcarolina.org
Story written by RACHEL DINKIN | Intern News Reporter |
