Bill Would Impose Limits on Wind Farms

The six-month moratorium beginning July 1 would be the first proposed since the federal government began raising concerns about the effect of wind farms on aviation radar earlier this year. The Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration have held up about a dozen wind farms in the Midwest, arguing that the giant blades might confuse radar or obscure aircraft.
 
Wind energy proponents see the federal efforts as a thinly veiled attempt to thwart construction of a giant wind farm off Cape Cod in Massachusetts. And they say a moratorium in West Virginia would send a bad message.
 
Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said the legislation has nothing to do with controversial wind farms proposed in West Virginia, such as the Beech Ridge Wind Farm in Greenbrier County. Manchin merely wants to avoid putting businesses at a disadvantage if federal wind power rules change in the next several months, Ramsburg said.
 
"We believe that some of these issues will work themselves out in the short term,'' she said.
 
"Right now he just thinks caution is the best approach.''
 
Manchin's legislation would apply to wind farms that would be located within 20 nautical miles of airports that can accommodate military aircraft, Ramsburg said.
 
The $300 million Greenbrier County wind farm would have turbines within 20 miles of Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg but it was unclear Tuesday whether that airport can accommodate military aircraft.
 
Laurie Jodziewicz, communications and policy specialist with the American Wind Energy Association, said West Virginia seems to be the only state considering a moratorium in response to the federal concerns. Elsewhere around the world, wind farms have easily been able to work around conflicts with aviation radar, she said.
 
About 10 to 15 Midwest projects have been delayed, but two have since gotten the green light. "This kind of overly broad action is exactly what we would say is not necessary,'' Jodziewicz said.
 
A moratorium would send a disturbing signal to an industry that provides clean energy, jobs and local tax revenue, said Frank Maisano, spokesman for a coalition of wind farm developers in the Mid Atlantic region.
 
"It would be unfortunate for West Virginia to step outside that model and not obtain some of the positive benefits that wind projects offer,'' he said.