Sen. Steve Goss helps clean energy dodge bullet
Raleigh, NC—It seemed inevitable that the state Senate would
ban commercial and community wind power projects in the state’s mountains—closing
the door on emission-free turbines that could produce enough electricity to
power 150,000 homes or more. But clean
energy advocates dodged a powerful bullet yesterday when, thanks to Sen. Steve
Goss (D-Watauga), lawmakers ultimately deferred the matter to another day.
Environmental groups and Senator Goss had urged the full
Senate to remove the mountain ban from S
1068, Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities, an otherwise proactive measure
to set up a wind-power permitting system across the state.
In letter to the chamber, advocates argued that limited wind
power projects could be developed in the state’s mountains “without marring the
state’s scenic beauty and unique ecology or countering the will of local
communities.”
Even without the categorical ban on commercial and
community-scale wind turbines on the state’s mountains, S 1068, along with
current law, would prohibit wind power development in National Parks such as
the Great Smoky Mountains, State Parks such as Grandfather Mountain, Natural
Significant Heritage Areas, wildlife refuge areas, and private conservation
lands with high recreation values, such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and
Appalachian Trail. The bill also
prohibits wind development in the associated “viewsheds” of these pristine
natural areas.
Due in part to the numerous wilderness areas and national
parks in Western North Carolina, an analysis from La Capra Associates estimated
that wind turbines could be sited on only 5 percent of the state’s
ridgelines. Other analyses have
excluded more ridgelines based on proximity to existing roads and transmission
lines.
Clean energy advocates argued that wind power in that small
fraction of the state’s mountains was critical to the state’s renewable energy
mix.
“Wind power on just five percent of our ridges could create,
conservatively, 800 MW of capacity,” they wrote. “This figure represents two-thirds of North Carolina’s
land-based wind potential, and 20 percent of the renewable energy required
under North Carolina’s renewable energy standard.”
The wind-permitting measure, along with the mountain ban,
had cleared the relevant committee the day before with little dissent among
Senators, and for a moment, it appeared the full chamber would vote on the ban
without any debate.
Then, Sen. Goss rose to object to the bill at length, and
offered an amendment to remove the categorical ban on wind turbines on the
state’s ridges. A half-hour debate
ensued, and ultimately lawmakers sent the entire bill back to a committee.
