facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts Windaction http://www.windaction.org/articles/c52+88?theme=atom Xarayar 2006-06-12T02:16:27Z .24058 2009-11-12T12:17:14Z 2009-11-12T12:17:14Z

Legislators declined this summer to clear the way for North Carolina to tap the power of mountain winds. Next year, they could decide whether to allow a single, experimental ridgetop wind farm. Rep. Phil Frye said at a Wednesday wind-energy forum that he plans to propose allowing the state to issue one permit for building rows of wind turbines on a ridge - which he hopes would happen at a site overlooking his hometown of Spruce Pine.

.23500 2009-10-07T23:46:32Z 2009-10-07T23:46:32Z

Governor Beverly Perdue, Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, and Representative Tim Spear hosted the meeting at Cape Hatteras Secondary School. "If water levels are rising as predicted and we take no action, we will have made a terrible mistake for the people who come after us," Basnight said in opening remarks to a crowd of more than 250 people assembled in the school auditorium.

.22708 2009-08-16T16:00:27Z 2009-08-16T16:00:27Z

Will wind-generated power save the environment or sacrifice it? The answer depends on who you ask ..."Your senators are very brave in what they're doing," said Lisa Linowes of New Hampshire-based Wind Action. "The legislature already concluded when it adopted the Ridge ordinance that your mountains have cultural significance to the state. When asked now to consider whether that value is worth more - or less - than wind generated electrons on the grid, your mountain senators are doing what most politicians in the U.S. have not done. They're putting a cold eye to the options and deciding wind is not worth the sacrifice, at least for now."

.22573 2009-08-07T21:32:25Z 2009-08-07T21:32:25Z

The North Carolina Senate voted overwhelmingly to ban large turbines from the state's ridgelines. The North Carolina State Senate has voted overwhelmingly to ban large wind turbines from the state's scenic western ridgelines. The 42-1 vote on Thursday represents the strongest stand against wind turbines taken by lawmakers in any state.

.22546 2009-08-06T23:10:02Z 2009-08-06T23:10:02Z

North Carolina senators have approved banning wind turbines from Appalachian ridges, balancing potential for green energy against unspoiled mountain vistas. The Senate voted 42-1 on Thursday to establish regulations for where wind turbines can be built. It next heads to the state House, where it may not come up until next spring.

.22520 2009-08-05T17:20:11Z 2009-08-05T17:20:11Z

Officials have interpreted the state's mountain ridge development law as banning large wind turbines on the ridges. The Senate Agriculture Committee this morning rejected a proposal that would have reversed that ban. Instead, a bill moving through the Senate will continue to call for cementing the ban.

.22244 2009-07-20T23:12:00Z 2009-07-20T23:12:00Z

State senators are now considering a bill that -- as it's currently written -- would effectively ban any large-scale generation of wind power in the mountains. The bill appeared to be headed for passage in the Senate last week because it had the support of several key Democrats from the mountains. Allowing large wind turbines would "destroy our crown jewel," said Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe. But Sen. Steve Goss, D-Watauga, broke with the other western legislators, saying that the ban goes too far.

.22195 2009-07-17T19:37:54Z 2009-07-17T19:37:54Z

The Senate's Finance Committee had approved a version of the bill that included rules for permits to build wind farms in the N.C. mountains on Tuesday. But in floor debate Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Steve Goss, D-Watauga, attempted to amend the bill to allow more wind development in the high country.

.22170 2009-07-16T22:05:47Z 2009-07-16T22:05:47Z

State senators came to no conclusion today about whether to keep windmills from lining mountain ridges. ...After Democrats huddled privately, the bill was sent back to the Senate Agriculture Committee for more work.

.22168 2009-07-16T21:44:32Z 2009-07-16T21:44:32Z

Local and global environmental worries ran into each other Wednesday on the floor of the state Senate. "It's a competing environmental issue," state Sen. Joe Sam Queen told fellow senators, "developing alternative wind energy and preserving the beauty of the mountains." Senate Democrats from Western North Carolina sparred over whether windmills should be allowed to line ridge tops.

.22128 2009-07-15T14:19:20Z 2009-07-15T14:19:20Z

A proposed change to North Carolina's ridge protection law unveiled Tuesday would prevent large-scale wind energy production in the mountains. At the urging of some mountain senators, the state Senate Finance Committee added the restrictions to a bill moving through the General Assembly that will shape where windmills are allowed to be built statewide.

.22111 2009-07-14T20:19:14Z 2009-07-14T20:19:14Z

Senate lawmakers this afternoon brought the state a step closer to a total ban on commercial wind development on North Caorlina's mountain tops with an overwhelming vote in the Senate Finance Committee of the General Assembly. Panel members agreed to restrict wind power development to residential uses on towers limited to 100 feet tall. That restriction prohibits commercial wind farms, which link multiple turbines that can exceed 300 feet.

.22090 2009-07-13T17:00:25Z 2009-07-13T17:00:25Z

The prospects for harnessing the winds whipping across a mountain ridge in Mitchell County depend on which way the wind blows in the General Assembly. Some lawmakers want to create a permit process for wind farms in the mountains, while others want to ban such clusters of windmills from ridges. Officials say they are poised to lure a wind-energy company and its green jobs to Spruce Pine if legislators open the door.

.22008 2009-07-09T23:59:29Z 2009-07-09T23:59:29Z

The winds are blowing up a storm over the future of wind turbines in the mountains. A rapidly changing bill to permit wind turbines in the mountains was altered by several co-sponsors to now feature a ban on all wind turbines in western North Carolina. The bill is in committee today before going to a Senate vote.

.21968 2009-07-08T14:55:55Z 2009-07-08T14:55:55Z

The measure, approved by the agriculture, environment and natural resources committee, requires permits for windmills on the coast. Wind is part of a 2007 state law that mandates increased production from renewable energy sources. But mountain turbines were dropped, said Sen. Charles Albertson, who sponsored the measure, because some lawmakers worried about the effects on tourism and aesthetics.

.21960 2009-07-08T01:32:03Z 2009-07-08T01:32:03Z

State lawmakers held off voting Tuesday on a proposal to ban wind power development in the mountains of western North Carolina. The delay was met with relief by wind power advocates who harbor dreams of erecting windmills in the Appalachian mountains, home to some of the best wind energy resources in the nation.

.21941 2009-07-07T11:45:18Z 2009-07-07T11:45:18Z

Legislation to get consideration today would restrict wind turbines on ridge tops from being more than 35 feet tall, a cap opponents said would kill a budding industry. ...Ridge-top protections in North Carolina date back to 1983 when all 25 mountain counties adopted rules banning tall structures on ridges 3,000 feet or higher.

.21938 2009-07-07T11:32:32Z 2009-07-07T11:32:32Z

North Carolina senators are looking more closely at how to balance the growing demand for green energy with environmental protection, development and tourism.

.21810 2009-06-26T13:05:40Z 2009-06-26T13:05:40Z

And there are still plenty of people in North Carolina who believe harnessing the coast's winds holds great potential to meet at least part of the state's future energy needs. But any proposal to build an offshore wind farm today would run into an obstacle that could be a tougher challenger than the economics of cheap oil and not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) protests.

.20712 2009-04-06T13:58:34Z 2009-04-06T13:58:34Z

Wind over waters less than 100 feet deep could supply at least 20 percent of the electricity needs of most coastal states, the Interior Department report says. Erecting wind turbines in shallow water would be cheaper and easier than in deep water. But allowing North Carolina's first commercial-scale wind turbines won't be a quick or easy decision.