Perquimans denies wind permit
The Perquimans Weekly|Peter Williams |November 15, 2016
Perquimans County commissioners have rejected a proposed $300 million wind farm, voting 3-2 Monday night to deny the project a conditional use permit. A majority of the board’s five members favored the project, but three individually had problems with at least some aspect of Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind proposal.
Perquimans County commissioners have rejected a proposed $300 million wind farm, voting 3-2 Monday night to deny the project a conditional use permit. A majority of the board’s five members favored the project, but three individually had problems with at least some aspect of Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind proposal.
HERTFORD — Perquimans County commissioners have rejected a proposed $300 million wind farm, voting 3-2 Monday night to deny the project a conditional use permit.
A majority of the board’s five members favored the project, but three individually had problems with at least some aspect of Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind proposal.
All five commissioners agreed Apex had met the burden of proof on two conditions – that a wind farm would not damage public health and safety and that the project met the requirements of the county’s wind farm ordnance.
But when it came to the question of whether the project would “substantially” injure adjoining property owners, both Commissioners Fondella Leigh and Wallace Nelson weren’t convinced that it …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]HERTFORD — Perquimans County commissioners have rejected a proposed $300 million wind farm, voting 3-2 Monday night to deny the project a conditional use permit.
A majority of the board’s five members favored the project, but three individually had problems with at least some aspect of Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind proposal.
All five commissioners agreed Apex had met the burden of proof on two conditions – that a wind farm would not damage public health and safety and that the project met the requirements of the county’s wind farm ordnance.
But when it came to the question of whether the project would “substantially” injure adjoining property owners, both Commissioners Fondella Leigh and Wallace Nelson weren’t convinced that it wouldn’t.
When it came to the fourth condition – whether the project would be in “harmony” with surrounding properties, Commissioner Kyle Jones voted that it would not be. The other four commissioners voted that the project would be in harmony with surrounding properties.
Only two commissioners — board Chairwoman Janice Cole and Commissioner Ed Muzzulin — voted that the Timbermill Wind project met all four conditions.
After the vote on the four conditions, the board had to take a final vote on whether to grant the permit. In the 3-2 vote to reject the permit, Cole and Muzzulin voted for approval; Leigh, Nelson and Jones voted against approval.
“They boxed themselves into a corner,” said Leary Winslow, one of the opponents of the Timbermill Wind project.
He was referring to how could a commissioner could vote “yes” on the overall project after they had voted “no” on one or more conditions for issuing the permit.
A sixth commissioner, Matt Peeler, was recused from voting because a majority of the board said he had demonstrated that he had already made up his mind to oppose the Timbermill Wind permit before public hearings on Apex’s request started. Peeler was in attendance at Monday’s commissioners meeting. Instead of sitting at the commissioners table however, he was seated in the audience.
“I thought of a lot of ways this (vote) could go, but I didn’t see this one coming,” Peeler said after the meeting.
Apex officials had no immediate comment on commissioners’ decision.
But Tommy Harrell, one of the property owners who has fought against the wind project, said he was “exuberant.”
“It’s been a hard, emotional battle to protect what is ours,” he said.