The North Carolina State Senate has moved to ban large wind turbines from the western ridgelines throughout the state. If the bill becomes law, it would for all intents and purposes block the commercial viability of two-thirds of the onshore wind resource in North Carolina.
The 42-1 vote represents the strongest opposition to wind turbines by lawmakers in any state and the reasons for the resistance is apparently one based on aesthetics.
The bill would allow only turbines that are 100 feet or less be installed on ridgelines above 3,000 feet, precluding industrial-sized turbines. The ridgelines are a major wind power resource for the state.
According to a report on New York Times’ Green Inc, Ivan Urlaub, executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, acknowledged that the vote has had the effect of raising concerns about North Carolina’s commitment to clean energy.
North Carolina is one of the top nuclear power producers in the United States and its electricity consumption is among the highest in the USA, according to the Energy Information Administration. Coal-fired power plants typically account for more than three-fifths of North Carolina’s electricity generation, and nuclear power for about one-third.
Adding to the carbon impact of North Carolina’s electricity production is the fact that the state’s coal-fired power plants burn coal shipped primarily by rail from West Virginia and Kentucky. The state consumes 33,606 thousand short tons of coal a year and while coal fired electricity generation accounts for 4,386 thousand MWh, renewable energy other than hydroelectric make up only 166 thousand MWh of the energy mix.
