Wind debate to continue in Mitchell
Both sides want a forum to discuss the pros and cons of a wind farm in the county
The wind energy debate in Western North Carolina may have become dormant in the N.C. General Assembly last week with the adjournment of the 2009 session, but it still remains active in Mitchell County until state lawmakers reconvene next spring.
Senate Bill 1068, which documents how to license and permit wind facilities in North Carolina, passed the Senate and was introduced on the House floor before legislators adjourned on Aug. 11, making it eligible for the short session, to begin on May 12, 2010.
Mitchell County’s N.C. House Representative Phillip Frye said the initial reading and the assignment of the bill to the House Committee on Energy and Energy Efficiency counts as the chamber’s first vote.
The bill, as it stands, limits windmills to 100 feet tall and only to power a single home, but Frye intends to make two amendments on the bill in 2010 to allow for a commercial wind farm in Mitchell County.
“It is a bad bill as it is now,” he said. “When it is brought up for discussion, I will be making a motion to change the bill back to its original form so it does allow wind farms by permit only. If that were to fail, then I have an amendment ready that would ask for a demonstration project to be allowed for our particular location in Spruce Pine.”
The particular location Frye is referring to is 5,300 acres of Penland Bailey Company and Town of Spruce Pine ridge, located behind Unimin Corp. and KT Feldspar mines, that is being considered for 20, 1.5 megawatt commercial wind turbines.
Between now and May 2010, Frye said he will be talking to fellow representatives to get an idea of the support or opposition on commercial wind energy in the House.
“Things were so hectic with the budget and closing the session, I wasn’t able to get a feel from my cohorts on the issue,” Frye said. “This gives me time to talk and work with the representatives. I do feel like with the tremendous backing I am getting on this in Western North Carolina, that there is a good chance of getting this bill straightened out and allowed to work here.”
Frye is not alone in his lobbying, other Mitchell County representatives, officials, and citizens are reaching out in support and opposition to large-scale wind energy production in Spruce Pine.
“Its not over,” said Starli McDowell, director of the Toe River Valley Watch. “This will be so good for Mitchell County. It is worth fighting for, and I intend to do that.”
McDowell said the proposed wind farm in Spruce Pine will make Mitchell County the ‘green mecca of the mountains.’ She has contacted numerous representatives in Mitchell County, but her main goal is to work with local officials to schedule another forum on wind energy.
“I have paid to tour a wind farm, and they’re very interesting. There are a lot of misconceptions about them,” she said. “I would like another meeting to educate the public on what the project is and what it will mean for our county. There are still a lot of questions that have left people uncertain and afraid.”
This goal is also shared by Bakersville resident Carole Klein, who placed an ad in this week’s paper challenging the community to learn more about wind energy.
“The reason for my ad was to keep the issue alive,” Klein said. “I know it has sort of gone to bed until May, but people need to be informed about both sides of the argument and avoid complacency.”
Klein said after researching the issue, she came to the decision that wind energy is not the best option for Mitchell County.
“I was, at once, a very pro wind power person, but after reading up on it, I have learned a lot, and it doesn’t seem to me to be an effective way of keeping carbon emissions and cost of electricity down, and it doesn’t serve any worthwhile needs at the expense of the mountains,” she said.
Klein agrees with McDowell saying there needs to be another forum, closer to the spring, in the community for people to discuss the issue.
“This issue is not going to go away easily,” Klein said. “People make intelligent decisions when they know what the issues are. I have come to the conclusion that wind power is counterproductive, but maybe other people will and other people won’t think like I do, but they should know the issues and what is really involved and understand all the viewpoints.”
Mitchell County’s N.C. Senate Representative Joe Sam Queen, who has continually lobbied for legislators to limit wind production and protect ridges in the mountain, agrees with Klein on wind energy.
“I am pro wind, but I just don’t think we need to put the large commercial wind mills at the very top of our most precious peaks,” Queen said. “We need to preserve the ridge law as is. We need to allow small wind in the mountains and wind elsewhere in the state, but we don’t need to compromise our highest peaks for wind production at the commercial level.”
Queen, chairman of the Senate Science, Energy and Technology Committee, authored a wind study bill in his first term and believes wind production is better suited for the coast and the Midwest. He said he would not support a pilot project in Mitchell County.
“I am fully transparent and open,” Queen said. “I have met and talked with all of the folks in Mitchell County, I am just not always in agreement on everything. I will stand by my stance as to how I feel is the best public policy for the most common good in the region.”
When the N.C. General Assembly adjourns may 12, 2010, Senate Bill will be heard before the House Committee on Energy and Energy Efficiency. If it is deemed favorable, it will proceed to the Committee of Finance before making it to the chamber’s floor.
To contact Mitchell Representative Phillip Frye call 765-4925 or call (828) 452-1688 for Senator Joe Sam Queen.
Wesley Brown
News-Journal Staff
19 August 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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