Neighbors oppose plan to build 3 wind turbines in coastal NC

A couple looking to build three electricity-generating wind turbines in rural North Carolina is facing opposition from neighbors who say the towering windmills will create noise and disrupt the aesthetic scenery of their coastal community.

Nelson and Dianna Paul, who live in Raleigh, have asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission for permission to build the Golden Wind Farm on a 33-acre tract of open land in Bettie, a town about seven miles northeast of Beaufort. If successful, it would be the largest wind farm in the state.

The turbines would generate 4.5 megawatts of electricity capable of providing power to about 900 homes, Nelson Paul told commissioners. The couple wants to sell the power to Progress Energy as a source of green energy.

"The project is needed because wind power is a renewable resource," Paul told the utilities commission during a hearing Tuesday.

Some residents living near the proposed project said the blades and turbines _ which could stand 464 feet, taller than a 30-story building _ would spoil the enjoyment of their properties and invite more entrepreneurs to build turbines along the coast.

"You're going to be able to see it from Beaufort and Morehead City," said Brady Golden, who lives across from the property. "Highway 70 is a scenic highway. There are a lot of questions the people of Bettie have."

Carteret County commissioners called a special meeting to discuss a moratorium on new towers and similar structures.

The Marine Corps was concerned the turbines could interfere with radar and aircraft operations at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in Havelock. But it agreed not to oppose the commission's decision if the Federal Aviation Administration was given the final say on the project.

Representatives of the North Carolina Public Staff, which advocates for the public before the commission, recommended the panel grant a permit if the FAA approves the project. The commission is expected to issue a decision in the next several months.

The Pauls want to build on land owned by Dianna Paul's family. Nelson Paul, a real estate broker and former environmental consultant, said the land is ideally situated with power transmission lines nearby. He said the turbines could withstand hurricane winds of 123 miles per hour.

Paul said he had reviewed several years of wind data from the Beaufort airfield but needs to do a wind analysis of the site to determine the height of the turbines and whether the project is economically feasible.

The project will cost $6 million and the turbines could begin generating power by 2010, Paul said. Last year, North Carolina lawmakers passed a law that requires the state's utility companies to generate 12.5 percent of its energy from wind, solar or other renewable energy sources by 2020.