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Zero in on land protection
Commercial wind turbines don't belong in Bath or Highland, but given the astounding momentum the industry has picked up in recent months, driven largely by the presidential race and those simmering in Congress, residents here are beginning to lose hope of preventing a proliferation of towers on the ridges that surround their homes.
It's no wonder.
Everyone from Barack Obama to T. Boone Pickens, and even Virginians circling General Assembly seats, and those seeking Congressional roles like Mark Warner, has seen fit to put a positive spin on wind that results in support for this alternative form of power generation. We're peppered with national campaign ads, clever General Electric TV spots during Olympic coverage, and calls from the likes of Al Gore to push for 20 percent renewable electricity in this country by the end of a decade or sooner.
In Highland County, Henry T. McBride's company has announced it expects investors soon to sign on and support his 39-megawatt project, one that has generated nothing yet but stiff opposition among residents here.
As reported in these pages last week, Bath County will be particularly vulnerable to this pressure — easily 50 percent of the county's property is federally owned, on national forest, and officials there believe there's not a whole lot they can do to prevent these towers from dotting their landscape if Congress sees fit to develop our mountains with turbine towers. And that's a distinct possibility. Imagine having paid top dollar for national forest access from your private property, only to have that special view marred by heavy construction and, eventually, spinning blades standing some 400 feet above the ridgeline.
Bath has elected to play guinea pig for Virginia's "site scoring system" designed to help localities figure out where the wind resources are, and how to handle requests for developing new wind energy utilities. Supervisors and planning officials have made it clear that while this system might be useful, they are determined to set their own standards. Bath's leadership is somewhat divided and uncertain about whether it supports any kind of industrial wind energy within county borders, and going through this exercise may at least spare them the painful years of research their counterparts in Highland have spent so much time and money on so far.
This system, designed by the folks at James Madison University with a committee of experts, may have its flaws. If so, Bath supervisors are sure to find them. But it remains a good opportunity to test the rating system and find out which properties wind energy developers are likely to target. Supervisors should move on this fast — renewable energy companies are going to move quickly if they find Bath's doors open and its land use plans unclear.
No matter how much good PR wind energy gets in the U.S., or in Virginia, from politicos eager to jump on the "green power" band wagon, officials and residents in both counties must retain their focus here at home. They should tune out the frenzied and exaggerated scare tactics used so often to shove wind power down our throats. They must keep their eyes squarely in their own back yards when it comes to siting issues. Everything from wildlife and environmental impacts to the majority voices of those who live here must take precedence over the misleading public relations machine that takes the spotlight off the millions of dollars we already spend to subsidize a source of power that cannot meet our needs if developed here, where the damage from industrial wind plants far outweighs the scarce benefits of renewable electricity.
If our local leaders can avoid getting snowed by the generalizations and overblown claims, they will better serve the citizens who elected them.
As we've repeated so many times, wind energy might be a good solution nationwide if it's developed in the right place, but Bath and Highland counties are most definitely the wrong place. Putting good ordinances and land use plans to work will be vital to maintaining Bath County residents' quality of life. That's true for any kind of development, but it's critical when it comes to wind.
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