Wind Power News: North Carolina
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These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Wind plan another green boondoggle
Those who think T. Boone Pickens’ energy plan (substitute wind electricity for natural gas electricity and natural gas for gasoline) is the holy grail for kissing off domestic drilling or consuming coal and oil, should think again.
Natural gas replenishment still requires drilling, frequently in oil rich terrain, such as off shore and Alaska.
Wind fluctuates. Power grids require a tight match between power demand and supply to avoid disastrous blackouts. As wind power contributions increase so do . . .
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Planners grind away on wind rules
BEAUFORT — The wind turbine section of the county’s draft tall structures ordinance is going back to the planning department for changes in setbacks for utility scale turbines, waivers and more after a thorough reading Thursday night by the County Planning Commission.
The issue garnered mixed feelings from the public during the planning commission’s special meeting in the boardroom of the administration building, as some supported the draft ordinance and the proposed setbacks in it while others felt their earlier comments . . .
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Location is key
I’m writing to ask folks who care about our county’s future to contact Carteret County planning commissioners and attend the meeting on Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. at the commissioners’ boardroom and urge them to SPEAK UP and tell the commissioners to be extremely careful when they finally adopt the new ordinance governing “wind turbines,” not windmills.
As chairman of Responsible Citizens for Responsible Energy (RCRE), our stand has never been to ban wind turbines from Carteret County. As our name . . .
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Turbine setback waiver rejected
Planners: Current rules reasonable
Currituck planners decided Tuesday to uphold the county’s new wind energy ordinance and oppose a request to exempt small wind turbines from setback requirements.
Dean Karico of East Coast Windpower asked the Currituck Planning Board to recommend approving a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that exempts small-system wind turbines from property line setbacks.
The current ordinance allows small-scale residential turbines, up to 120 feet in height, on lots at least 20,000 square feet. However, the turbine . . .
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The Dark Side
Fear not my Jedi brethren, I have not succumbed to the dark side. But I believe a healthy dose of skepticism is called for before blindly leaping aboard the wind-power train, confident it is headed for the Holy Land of power independence where electricity flows abundant, cheap and pure like milk and honey in the Promised Land.
I would simply like simple answers to simple questions, i.e., what happens when the wind doesn’t blow?; what happens when the wind blows too . . .
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Power line foes to have a say
RAEFORD — Victory may be a long shot, but Earl Hendrix is geared up for the fight.
For more than eight months, Hendrix, a 76-year-old Hoke County farmer, has been protesting Progress Energy’s 230-kilovolt power line expected to run through 21 miles of private land in the county.
The route, which begins in Richmond County and travels through Scotland and Hoke to end in Cumberland County, will affect 77 property owners in Hoke County and 29 in Cumberland County.
To Progress Energy, the . . .
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Round and round we go
The North Carolina Wind Working Group (NCWWG) has created its own Model Wind Ordinance for Wind Energy Facilities in North Carolina. We have gone from the fox guarding the hen house to the fox designing the hen house.
According to North Carolina Wind Energy at Appalachian State University’s Web site, “The North Carolina Wind Working Group is an alliance among environmental groups, policy makers, industry members, educators, and citizen action groups who actively pursue wind power options by promoting supportive legislation . . .
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Energy Center helps draft wind-energy policy for state
Appalachian State University’s Energy Center helped craft a model wind-energy ordinance for use across the state.
The ASU Energy Center, which helped draft a county-level ordinance in 2006, was part of a Wind Working Group that included North Carolina State University and the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association. The Watauga County ordinance had similar features to the state model, said Brent Summerville of the ASU Energy Center.
“It’s similar, because it allows small wind turbines to be a permitted use and it goes . . .
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Draft law nearly done
BEAUFORT — A complete version of the draft ordinance regulating wind turbines and communication towers was presented Thursday to the County Planning Commission, and while the ordinance now addresses noise, shadow flicker and more, there are still several steps to go before the draft is proposed to county commissioners.
Planning Commission Chairman Harry Archer said now that a significant amount of research has been done and an initial draft has been developed, comments obtained during three public comment meetings recently will . . .
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N.C. state budget proposal includes some local goodies
Study of the potential energy payback from siting wind turbines in the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds is part of the $21.4 billion state budget that was passed this week.
Also, northeastern North Carolina would receive millions toward construction of the mid-Currituck County bridge, renovation of the historic Mattamuskeet Lodge in Hyde County and construction costs for new buildings at Elizabeth City State University.
The budget is awaiting Gov. Mike Easley’s signature.
“This budget was all about sustaining a strong economy and the importance . . .
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