Public not hearing caution, concerns of wind energy
Daily Advance | September 15, 2016 | www.dailyadvance.com
Daily Advance | September 15, 2016 | www.dailyadvance.com
According to the 2002 Siting Subcommittee of the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) Handbook: ”Wind farms emit no air pollutants, no greenhouse gases. Wind project operation does not consume surface or groundwater, or discharge wastewater containing heat or chemicals. Wind facilities produce electricity without requiring the extraction, processing, transportation, or combustion of fossil fuels. The fuel source for electricity generation from wind is free, thereby eliminating fuel cost uncertainty over the life of the facility. The overall price of electricity from wind will be more stable than from fossil-fueled power plants.”
The wind industry is hoodwinking environmentally-concerned citizens on many fronts. The spin from the wind industry looks like paradise, before the fall of man in the garden. No mention of the negative health effects to people living near the turbines. No mention of the wind companies buying the houses of those suffering environmental health issues living in too close proximity to wind turbines in Canada. No mention of strip bulldozing the farmland needed to stabilize the turbine before creating its base. (I believe the testimony was three acres for each.)
What is the air quality in the countries producing the wind turbines? How many gallons of fossil fuel will be used to manufacture the raw materials and deliver each finished turbine to Eastern N.C.? Some turbine producing countries don’t have good EPA track records, but the Board of Commissioners for Chowan and Perquimans counties are asked to blindly approve a C.U.P. application for turbines we don’t have all the specs on and don’t know from what country they will choose to manufacture them, if the application is approved.
The fuel source for wind energy may be free, but everything needed to produce electricity costs Americans money, time and will affect the health of those living closest to the turbine sites. Stable electricity costs is misleading because replacement costs to maintain and/or replace turbines and Grid power plant equipment can only go up. As the Apex presentation stands, before hearing testimony opposing the application, I vote “no” to the Timbermill wind farm application. It should be clear the application is incomplete.
Patrick Flynn
Edenton
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/09/16/public-not-hearing-caution-concerns-of-wind-energy/