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Highland 'wind watch' group staying involved
BY M.K. LUTHER • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY — Highlanders for Responsible Development remain committed to its watchdog role involving the Highland New Wind Development industrial wind facility, says HRD president Randy Richardson.
"We remain concerned, we are not disappearing, we are going to keep an eye on it."
Formed in August 2005 largely in response to the proposed wind turbine project, the non-profit organization continues to meet monthly and monitor wind-energy activity.
New information on wind energy is hard to come by now, Richardson said, but the group's main concern with HNWD's facility is the lack of a complete site plan.
The local conditional use permit requires HNWD give the county a site plan before construction, but HNWD has maintained it cannot finish a site plan because it doesn't know yet what type of turbines will be used.
"If I wanted to build a garden shed, one of the first things they (the county) would ask for is a site plan," Richardson said. "This is the biggest thing to happen in Highland County and we have never seen a site plan."
Richardson said HRD wants the site plan, once submitted, be made available to the public. "I hope that the county will give adjoining landowners and interested parties time to review site plan if we get it," he said.
HRD is not opposed to wind generating power plants, Richardson said, but is concerned with many unanswered questions surrounding HNWD's project and the site the developer chose in Highland County.
"To categorically say that everyone involved with HRD is against wind energy is just wrong - it goes back to the siting," Richardson said.
Many devoted environmentalists are involved with HRD and they "find themselves opposed to what is supposed to be an environmentally friendly project," he said.
"On the surface, when you get a 90-second sound bite, wind energy sounds perfectly green. But when you dig deeper, I think there is a whole lot more to it," Richardson said.
The amount of energy wind turbines can deliver in Virginia is relatively small and reliability is an issue as well; research shows wind turbines could produce power From WIND-WATCH, page1 only about one-third of the time they operate.
"It all gets back to doing the right thing - you just don't throw up a wind farm because it sounds like the right thing. It needs to be studied a whole lot more before it goes up," Richardson said.
The potential lack of oversight is still a concern for HRD, also. No specific legislation about wind-turbine facilities exists and there is no single state agency directly responsible for the project's development.
"It is not like you can call one number down there in Richmond and get all the answers - there is no Department of Wind Energy as far as I know in Richmond," Richardson said.
HRD has questions about who is ultimately responsible for enforcing state and county regulations and permitting conditions imposed on HNWD.
"My opinion from the very beginning has been the county should have said thanks, but no thanks — we appreciate your interest but we are not going to say 'yea' or 'nay' to the project until we get more information," Richardson said. "How can the county approve a project that we don't have the answers to?"
HRD fears the HNWD project's approval could open the door for other industrial development that is inconsistent with the county's comprehensive plan, rural character, and natural beauty.
"We are not against development - we just want development done right," Richardson said.
This group of concerned citizens is also broadening its horizons beyond wind energy, and concentrating on general county development. HRD is involved with Highland schools through the Highland Occupation Mentoring Experience, or HOME, which helps students explore employment opportunities in the community, and funding an environmental and agricultural scholarship.
HRD is in the process of starting a service group that would provide home repair or home improvement services to low-income individuals or families. Richardson likened the group to Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer group that builds affordable housing sold at cost.
Highlanders for Responsible Development meets on the third Fridays of every month and meetings are open to the public.
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