New legislation could affect pending wind energy projects By Anne Adams – Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill introduced last Friday by Sen. Lamar Alexander would have profound consequences for the current wind utility decision faced by Highland County.
Alexander, a Tennessee senator, announced legislation titled the “Environmentally Responsible Wind Power Act of 2005,? co-patroned by Virginia’s own Sen. John Warner, who has previously expressed his serious concerns about wind energy development off-shore in the Chesapeake.
The bill is designed “to provide for local control for the siting of windmills.? If passed, it would enable local governments to approve or deny projects by resolution; if a project is denied, it will not receive federal credits that make wind utilities lucrative to developers.
The bill also considers the view shed of neighboring states, allowing one state to veto a project in another if it doesn’t want a project within its view shed.
Legislation points to “highly scenic areas? and federal lands as areas. Any qualified projects within 20 miles of such places would require an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act, and those projects, too, would not be eligible for federal tax credits.
In his lengthy address to Congress Friday, Alexander said the bill ensures the federal government does not subsidize building the projects within 20 miles of a military base or highly scenic location such as a national park.
The 39-megawatt project proposed here by Highland New Wind Development, LLC, appears to be within 20 miles of the Sugar Grove naval base in West Virginia.
In Pendleton County, W.Va., U.S. Wind Force’s Liberty Gap project, if built, would border Highland County in the Doe Hill area, and could also be affected by the legislation, particularly if Virginia were to object to its location near the state line. It, too, would be subject to a NEPA environmental assessment.
Alexander pointed to states’ renewable portfolio standards as a strong incentive for such utilities, and estimates that even without them, if the U.S. continues to subsidize wind energy there could be as many as 100,000 new turbines erected by 2025. In addition, Alexander said that according to the Treasury Department, the wind subsidy, if renewed each year for the next five, would cost taxpayers $3.7 billion over that time.
“If Virginia were to produce 10 percent of its power from wind and the subsidies continue, it would probably need more than 1,700 windmills,? Alexander said. “These windmills would take up enough land to equal the land mass of three cities the size of Richmond.?
Alexander continued, “Clearly there are more sensible ways to provide clean energy than spending $3.7 billion of taxpayers’ money to destroy the American landscape.?
Editor’s note: Read the full text of Sen. Alexander’s remarks to Congress in this week’s Opinion section, page 24.
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