Windmill study provides statistics and more for divided community
After looking through a larger than expected volume of letters submitted to the paper last week, a couple of reoccurring themes were prevalent.
Folks in our region are divided over health care reform, the handling of the economy by the Obama administration and, of course, wind turbines. Readers have strong and passionate arguments when it comes to these topics, and other issues of local, state and national interest, including cap and trade, the future of coal and the unemployment rate. But folks are definitely talking about wind turbines.
The long-awaited wind energy study compiled by Springsted Inc., was released on Monday. While it didn’t include a lot of surprises, it did come with plenty of statistics, projections and hypothetical scenarios related to wind turbine farms.
The study concluded that the controversial East River Mountain wind farm project would provide $9.2 million in new revenue to Tazewell County over a 20-year period. It also concluded that sales tax revenue and local employment is expected to be significant during the construction phase of the wind turbine farm. However, long-term employment was estimated by the company at only 10 to 15 full-time employees who would be charged with maintaining and monitoring the wind turbines.
The report stated that Dominion and BP Energy are planning a $200 million project that will consist of approximately 30 to 40 wind turbines that will create 150 construction jobs during the construction period and $10 million in new revenue from local products and services. It is important to note that previous reports had indicated 60 wind turbines. So the “30 to 40” projection is — while still significant — smaller than what was originally reported.
According to the report, the primary benefits of the wind turbines will come in the form of property tax receipts through taxes collected from the wind turbine farms and their equipment. However, the report also concludes that the revenue — while significant in the early years of the project — will steadily decrease as the assets depreciate.
Members of the Mountain Preservation Association — a local citizens group opposed to the wind turbine farm — are questioning the validity of the report because it was partially funded by Dominion and BP. They argue that other windmill companies are waiting in the wings — and are ready to build wind turbines all the way from Tazewell to Pocahontas — if the East River Mountain project is approved by the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors.
Opponents of the wind turbine farm argue the project will adversely impact property values and tourism.
The report released Monday provides two scenarios as to how a wind turbine farm on East River Mountain could negatively impact tourism and property values.
In the first scenario, it predicts that any possible negative tourism impacts would offset the project benefits by approximately $1 million over a 20-year period. That would result in a 11 percent reduction in the expected total benefits of the project, according to the report.
In a second scenario provided by the report — where the negative impacts are doubled — the impact is estimated at 22 percent. If both hypothetical impacts are combined, the project benefits would be reduced from $9.2 million to approximately $7 million, the report said.
The study also includes a hypothetical scenario of a 5 percent impact on residential property values as a result of the wind turbine farm that could lead to a reduction in property tax revenues by $266,000 in the first five years of operation of the wind farm.
While it doesn’t provide a lot of new details, the Springsted study still provides a lot of information for folks to digest. The official public hearing on the proposed mountain construction ordinance, also known as the mountain ridge protection ordinance, will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6:15 p.m. or soon thereafter at Tazewell High School.
I think we can safely expect a packed house on Dec. 1 as the windmill saga prepares to take another pivotal turn.
By Charles Owens
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Charles Owens is the Daily Telegraph’s city editor.
17 November 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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