ts sponsors, including Sens. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, and Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico, say the bill is necessary to prevent conflicts between wind turbine projects and military training and safety, which in turn would be seen as a negative by a future Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The legislation, Senate Bill 377, is titled the Military Base Protection Act.

Energy Policy North Carolina

A controversial ban on new wind turbines in all or part of more than 40 counties, including almost all of Eastern North Carolina, advanced in the state legislature Thursday. The bill’s main proponent, Republican Sen. Harry Brown of Jacksonville, said the wind turbine ban is needed to protect airspace for military test flights and to keep military installations in the state.

Energy Policy North Carolina

A recently expired statewide moratorium not only delayed his plans for more than a year, but also nixed Renewable Energy System’s proposal for Tyrrell County in 2017. And new legislation could have an even bigger impact – as it, once again, would essentially prohibit wind farms from being built in eastern North Carolina.

Energy Policy North Carolina

Seymour Johnson's Col. Donn Yates didn't specifically endorse the bill, but he told state senators that he needs "the status quo" to train jet pilots at low altitude in North Carolina. Senate Bill 377 would block windmills across hundreds of square miles in the state, protecting military training runs not only in eastern North Carolina but through a smaller swath of the western part of the state as well.

Safety North Carolina

Information that will be shelved by the mainstream Democrat liberal media is that in rural Iowa where the wind sweeps across the prairie three massive 450-foot high wind turbines are being torn down because their constant noise disrupted the townspeople.

General Iowa North Carolina

Once again, officials in eastern North Carolina say they were not consulted about a just-filed bill that could halt a multi-million dollar project in its tracks.

Energy Policy North Carolina

"The comprehensive mapping effort, if used as a template, should provide the state compatible growth around military installations that doesn’t interfere with ranges and military installation missions," retired Maj. Gen. Robert Dickerson and retired Lt. Gen. Gary McKissock said in a joint statement. "This proposal brings clarity to an issue that may possibly weigh against North Carolina's military installations in future [base closure] evaluations.”

Safety North Carolina

A ban on land-based wind projects expired, but industry leaders say new onshore development isn’t a current priority.

Offshore Wind North Carolina

Giecek says his team had been watching North Carolina lawmakers to see if the moratorium would put momentum behind legislative efforts to squelch wind energy in the state. But that hasn’t happened. Since enacting the controversial moratorium, legislators have been relatively quiet on the wind front.

General North Carolina

As North Carolina lawmakers gather in Raleigh this week for an unusual lame duck session, clean energy advocates are bracing for a potential showdown over wind energy. A controversial ban on new wind farms is supposed to end Jan. 1, but observers fear the ban’s author, state Sen. Harry Brown, will push to extend it or make it permanent before its expiration date.  

Energy Policy North Carolina

Duke Energy Carolinas has quietly abandoned plans for purchasing up to 500 megawatts worth of wind power capacity for the Carolinas by 2022 after finding the initial bids from producers "not economically attractive."

General North Carolina South Carolina

Two proposed wind farms will likely pull out of eastern North Carolina if an 18-month moratorium on wind farm permits becomes state law, company officials say. Both projects had been expected to apply for state permits as early as this year and potentially could have been generating electricity by 2019.

General North Carolina

Before construction, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was commissioned to run a model on how the spinning blades, which reach 500 feet in the air, might distort radar signals. The model showed 104 turbines would work, but no more.

Safety North Carolina Virginia

 

General North Carolina

After a year of operation, wind farm isn't meeting performance projections and Navy report may show it still interferes with radar facility After operating a little more than a year, the Amazon Wind Farm, North Carolina’s only large-scale wind energy project, continues to cause concerns. The project — located in Perquimans and Pasquotank counties near Elizabeth City — generated just 75 percent of its expected power. Military officials also remain uneasy about the wind farm’s interference with a sophisticated radar facility that provides crucial intelligence for the United States.

General USA North Carolina

“A lot of it just has to do with the market conditions coming together that make it very competitive,” she says, noting that improvements in both process and technology, including bigger turbines being developed, are making the numbers work in off-shore's favor.

Offshore Wind North Carolina

In 2017, solar and wind power facilities faced storm clouds and headwinds in northeastern North Carolina, where residents and elected officials alike opposed their rapid growth.

General North Carolina

Two companies have been tasked by the federal government with conducting ultra-high resolution aerial digital surveys of wildlife off the coast of North and South Carolina of sites for proposed offshore wind farms. The survey by APEM, based in Manchester, England, and Normandeau Associates Inc., which has an office in Stanley, N.C., will provide baseline data to help with siting and permitting future developments.

Impact on Wildlife Offshore Wind USA North Carolina South Carolina

Charlotte-based Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises said Wednesday that it’s cutting its global workforce by 9 percent as part of a cost-cutting initiative and exploring “strategic alternatives” for two of its business lines.

General USA North Carolina

On Friday, the legislature made public its $110,000 contract with AECOM, a global engineering firm with an office in Morrisville, to chart the areas of the state where wind turbines could interfere with military bases. The study – which must be completed by next May – is part of an 18-month moratorium on wind farms enacted in July.

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