Wind Power News: North Carolina
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Feds eye more major wind farms off NC coast
At least five offshore wind-energy projects are now on the horizon for North Carolina. Just ahead of a May 11 auction of lease rights for utility-scale wind farms on two Atlantic Ocean sites about 20 miles from Bald Head Island, federal officials say they now are targeting an additional pair of areas totaling 1.2 million acres off the North Carolina coast. While auctions will determine the next steps for those four sites, planning already is underway for what is being . . . Complete story »
Timbermill Wind plans 45-turbine facility near Edenton
The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment on Timbermill Wind’s plans to fill in ditches and wetlands for a proposed 45-turbine 1,933-acre wind energy facility near Edenton. Much of the project area is in what was formerly known as Bear Swamp, which has been historically ditched and drained to convert forested wetlands to agricultural use. The Corps’ Wilmington District announced Monday that the company seeks authorization to temporarily impact 187.68 acres of wetlands, 0.15 acres of streams and . . . Complete story »
Chowan extends Timbermill permit to March 31, 2023
EDENTON – The company developing the Timbermill Wind energy project in Chowan County will have a little less than another year to get the long-delayed project started. Chowan commissioners agreed last month to extend Apex Clean Energy’s conditional use permit for Timbermill Wind to March 31, 2023. The company’s current use permit was originally set to expire on May 15, 2021. The vote to grant the extension was 5-1, with Commissioner Larry McLaughlin casting the lone “no” vote. Apex was granted . . . Complete story »
More wind farms off the NC coast? Federal agency eyes two more areas off Outer Banks
The federal government wants to know the potential impact of offshore wind in two newly identified portions of the Atlantic Ocean off the Outer Banks. In a Federal Register notice published Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking information from wind energy developers and ocean users like fishermen that the agency hopes to use to winnow down six potential wind lease areas between Delaware and North Carolina. Those include a 691-square-mile area wrapping around the northeastern border . . . Complete story »
Comment period on wind energy lease sites to begin
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is looking to expand wind energy leasing areas in United States waters, including off the North Carolina Coast. The Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that it will publish Friday in the Federal Register two separate calls for information and nominations for possible leasing off the coast of Oregon and the Central Atlantic, which is offshore of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. “The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting a robust clean energy . . . Complete story »
Fishing associations raise questions about offshore wind energy plans
Capt. Cain Faircloth knows when something is a little fishy. He’s been an angler all his life, following in the footsteps of five Faircloth generations before him who all captained fishing vessels in the Cape Fear region. But now charter boat captains and fishermen like Faircloth fear the inevitable influx of offshore wind energy could put them out of business. “Brunswick County is an amazing place and I just don’t want to see it ruined,” he said. “Tourism is booming, . . . Complete story »
Alternative energy possesses an unseemly side rarely seen
Not in My Back Yard. It’s a classic psychological and sociological phenomenon. A March 12 Letter to the Editor in The Pilot got me thinking of it while rotating my compost piles. The writer opines, “Sitting looking out to sea, I’m imagining the thrill of knowing that just beyond the horizon there are windmills capturing the power of the wind, and turbines turning to the power of the tides, sending that power to hundreds and hundreds of homes and businesses . . . Complete story »
‘This could affect us all in a negative way:’ Charter fishing industry concerned with proposed wind turbines
The debate over wind-powered energy in southeastern North Carolina has been a long one. The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners previously voted to not allow any type of wind turbine within 24 nautical miles of the coast. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced they plan to auction off an area off the coast known as the Carolina Longbay Area. The area covers over 110,000 acres, and stretches from the North Carolina coast to South Carolina. The federal government ultimately plans . . . Complete story »
Timber! Two wind turbines torn down south of Minot
MINOT, N.D. – Basin Electric decommissioned two of their oldest wind turbines from the Minot Wind Project south of the city Monday morning. The two wind turbines, known affectionately as Willy and Wally, were among the first built in one of the largest wind projects owned by a co-op in the U.S., the Minot Wind Project. “We were pioneers in wind energy, in bringing wind energy to North Dakota and these two were built in 2002 and they’re right near . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind turbines interfere with ships’ radar, ability to navigate, study finds
Gov. Roy Cooper and the Biden administration want to make North Carolina carbon neutral by 2050, and President Biden’s ambitious plans to combat climate change lean heavily on offshore wind generation. The turbines could be a problem for fishermen. North Carolina’s fishing industry has largely been cautious in criticizing the wind turbines, saying it wants to wait for more information. But a new report on the impact of wind power on fishermen’s ability to navigate and operate radar could throw . . . Complete story »
