“I think this is a very good piece of legislation that is making sure that all property owners have a voice in the process,” said state Rep. Cameron Sexton, who sponsored the bill in the House. “It’s a very reasonable approach that takes into account personal property rights as well as the rights of adjacent property owners.”

Zoning/Planning Tennessee

Representative Cameron Sexton of Crossville sponsored the bill and said the bill protects personal and adjacent property owners’ rights when it comes to the placement of wind turbines.

General Tennessee

​As Arkansas' congressional delegation stepped up its war Tuesday on a $2.5 billion wind-power transmission project, Clean Line Energy Partners has confirmed that it has shelved plans to string the controversial power line across Arkansas. Michael Skelly, the company's president, told Arkansas Business that the direct-current project, which would have transmitted 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy from Western Oklahoma to eastern Tennessee, is basically on life support.

Transmission USA Arkansas Oklahoma Tennessee

The deal was sealed after it became apparent to Clean Line that TVA had little appetite to complete a six-year-old memorandum of understanding to purchase the project’s wind power. Late last year, just weeks after TVA said it was still studying whether to sign the contract, agency President Bill Johnson said the Clean Line project didn’t make economic sense, given TVA’s flat demand and ample generating capacity.

Transmission Arkansas Oklahoma Tennessee

The nation's biggest wind generator, NextEra Energy Resources, has bought the Oklahoma portion of the proposed 700-mile-long Plains and Eastern Line to serve Oklahoma and Midwest customers. But for now, plans to bring wind energy from the windy areas of Oklahoma and Texas into the less-windy Tennessee Valley and Southeastern part of the United States are stalled and unlikely to be resurrected for years.

Energy Policy Transmission Oklahoma Tennessee Texas

The controversial wind turbine project planned for eastern Cumberland County has been suspended by the developer. Apex Clean Energy announced the decision Friday afternoon.

General Tennessee

“I am glad Governor Haslam and the General Assembly approved legislation to prohibit the construction of some Tennessee wind farms for one year and instead give the state a chance to study the issue. If there is one thing Tennesseans agree on, it is pride in the natural beauty of our state. We should not allow anyone to destroy the environment in the name of saving it.”

Energy Policy Tennessee

On April 25th, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (85 to 3) in favor of Bill HB1021. But nothing was official until the Senate gave its stamp of approval. That happened last Thursday when SB1336 was passed with the same thunderous approval in Nashville— with 30 Ayes, 0 Nays and 1 PNV (Present not voting).

Energy Policy Tennessee

 U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a longtime critic of wind-powered electricity generation, is praising a state House vote to place a partial moratorium on such developments in Tennessee while a special committee of state lawmakers drafts rules for regulating them.

General Tennessee

The legislation that passed the House by a vote of 85-3 would prohibit the construction of any wind farm until July 1, 2018 in counties that don’t have any regulations related to wind farms in place by July 1, 2017, and create a special joint legislative study to evaluate and make recommendations on the siting of wind farms. 

Energy Policy Tennessee

Residents opposed to a massive wind farm on the Cumberland Plateau spent Wednesday at the Capitol lobbying lawmakers and urging them to oppose the plan.

General Tennessee

"TVA has concluded that it doesn't need more power for the foreseeable future. Therefore, its board should resist obligating TVA's ratepayers for any new large power contracts, much less contracts for comparatively expensive and unreliable wind power. Instead, TVA should continue to provide low-cost, reliable power to the region that boosts economic development throughout the Tennessee Valley."

Impact on Economy Energy Policy Transmission USA Tennessee

Martin, as a matter of record recently, went into great detail reading verbatim the entire content of the statute to the commissioners, county attorney and the Mayor. This would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that they did, in fact have a legal way —not to mention an obligation — to protect the residents of Cumberland County.

Zoning/Planning Tennessee

​Tennesseee legislators — Representative. Cameron Sexton and Senator Paul Bailey — are going to bat for Cumberland County … and the Cumberland Mountain Preservation Coalition is back on the move.

General Tennessee

From New York to the mountains of rural Tennessee, wind farms continue to spark controversy and debate.

Impact on People USA New York Tennessee

The Cumberland County Commission approved a resolution Monday night to encourage the state of Tennessee government to pass legislation in regard to the impact of industrial wind turbines. The approval was met with a room full of applause and cheers from wind turbine protestors. The resolution is provided in full on this page. It can also be accessed by downloading the document attached to this page.

General Tennessee

Gibson County Mayor Tom Witherspoon gave members of the Milan Rotary Club a rundown of the county’s current business last Thursday, but no topic was more controversial than that of the proposed Wind Farm in the northern area of the county. The vote on zoning for the site, a 16,000-acre area of land between Kenton and Yorkville, was tabled earlier this month by the County Commission, but residents and county officials are still discussing the matter.

General Tennessee

“[The wind industry] says their making every effort to be proactive and to reduce birds and bats killed at their projects and they say nobody takes wildlife impacts more seriously than the wind industry.” Hutchins said. “I’m going to challenge that idea.”

Impact on Birds Tennessee

After a long, question-and-answer session Monday, Sept. 19, Gibson Co. commissioners voted to table a resolution that would have allowed the Planning Commission to create zones allowing wind turbines and equipment.

Zoning/Planning Tennessee

BELLS CHAPEL — It’s easier going green than most people might think.

General Tennessee