facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts Windaction http://www.windaction.org/articles/c88+52?theme=atom Xarayar 2006-06-12T02:16:27Z .38388 2013-05-18T17:55:11Z 2013-05-18T17:55:11Z

The legislation sets parameters for permit applications that include public hearings so opponents can raise concerns. State regulators could deny an application if a project could adversely affect the environment, private landowners or military operations.

.38240 2013-05-01T11:21:12Z 2013-05-01T11:21:12Z

"This misguided policy acts much like a hidden tax. Experience has shown that renewable energy mandates, like the one on the books in North Carolina, have a negative impact on the economy and an adverse impact on your constituents' pocketbooks."

.38195 2013-04-26T13:06:39Z 2013-04-26T13:06:39Z

A handful of House Republicans dealt a stunning blow to state Rep. Mike Hager's bill to phase out slowly North Carolina's subsidies, tax credits, and purchase mandates propping up renewable energy companies. Despite this setback, the Rutherford County Republican said he plans to bring House Bill 298 to another committee vote.

.37991 2013-04-05T18:25:22Z 2013-04-05T18:25:22Z

"What this bill does is try to soft land this business and to be competitive you need to move from government subsidy you need to move off the taxpayer rolls. I see this as an entitlement programme that is beginning to get its roots into our state. I see it as a regressive type tax." Hager's bill is part of a nationwide campaign to repeal state-based renewable portfolio standards.

.11951 2013-04-04T00:55:37Z 2013-04-04T00:55:37Z

A House panel on Wednesday narrowly approved an effort to scale back and ultimately repeal a 2007 law requiring North Carolina electric utilities to generate a percentage of their power through alternative sources and locate energy savings. The House commerce subcommittee voted 11-10 in favor of the bill that would cap renewable energy and efficiency requirements by power companies, electric cooperatives and city-owned electric utilities at roughly half the level the law ultimately demands.

.37959 2013-04-03T23:00:37Z 2013-04-03T23:00:37Z

A House subcommittee narrowly passed a bill Wednesday that chips away at a 2007 law that aimed to increase conservation efforts and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. Rep. Chris Millis, R-Pender, one of the bill's sponsors, said the intent is to stop the burden of renewable energy subsidies and mandates on ratepayers.

.37739 2013-03-14T12:14:20Z 2013-03-14T12:14:20Z

North Carolina's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, passed in 2007, is 12.5% by 2021 for investor-owned utilities and 10% by 2018 for electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. The authors of the bill, dubbed the "Affordable and Reliable Energy Act," say the state's RPS is raising energy costs for North Carolina consumers.

.37150 2013-01-26T06:02:24Z 2013-01-26T06:02:24Z

Republicans hope to roll back the state's green energy policy. It's part of a broader effort to reshape the state's energy landscape to reflect conservative priorities. It will likely dovetail with Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's campaign endorsement of offshore drilling and inland fracking for shale gas as a means of promoting energy independence.

.23934 2011-12-15T19:05:29Z 2011-12-15T19:05:29Z

At least two utility companies have declined deals to buy power from Iberdrola Renewables' proposed large-scale wind farm here, potentially derailing the $600 million project. Both companies - Dominion Power and Progress Energy - say the price of the power was simply too high.

.31817 2011-04-26T20:30:11Z 2011-04-26T20:30:11Z

Legislators introduced six bills concerning energy last Tuesday, a tenth of all the energy bills proposed so far this year. Most focused on job creation through the energy sector instead of environmental regulation as they had under the Democratic majority.

.6569 2011-03-25T14:10:22Z 2011-03-25T14:10:22Z

Now a legislative proposal introduced Wednesday would scrap the 2007 energy law, known as Senate Bill 3. Republican state Rep. George Cleveland's bill calls for the immediate repeal of the bill, which requires power companies to meet 12.5 percent of customer electricity demand through renewables and conservation by 2021.

.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.