Environmental groups and other wind power proponents are trying to “spin” a recent bill passed by the state Senate.  The House still has to take up the bill.

The New York Times has a recent article entitled “North Carolina Moves to Limit Wind Projects.”  This article title is similar to the one I discussed recently from the Winston-Salem Journal.

Let’s get to the facts:

The NC Senate passed a bill (SB 1068) that would help promote wind power, not limit it.

Under the current Ridge Law, almost all tall buildings and structures that exceed 40 feet would be banned from the ridgelines.  By any reasonable interpretation of the law, it would ban commercial scale wind turbines, which can be as tall as 500 feet or the height of a 50-story skyscraper. 

As the NC Attorney General Roy Cooper wrote in 2002, the only types of windmills that would be allowed are “the traditional, solitary windmill which has long been in use in rural communities.” In other words, a small grain mill would be allowed, but tall, electricity-generating turbines wouldn’t be.

The NC Senate, instead of simply restating what existing law would allow, decided to promote wind power by expressly allowing some tall wind turbines–those that are 100 feet (not including the blades) and are used primarily for personal residential use.

Before this change, these turbines wouldn’t have been allowed–now they expressly are allowed.

The wind power proponents want to make it seem like wind turbines somehow are getting less protection than other structures.  In fact, the opposite is true: wind turbines are getting special treatment.

The following is a brief summary regarding the bans on tall buildings and structures along the ridgelines:

___________________________________________________________

Current Law: Bans All Wind Turbines* and Almost All Structures

NC Senate Bill:
Allows Some Tall Wind Turbines–Still Bans Almost All Structures

What Wind Power Proponents Want:
Ban Almost All Structures But Create a Special Exception for All Wind Turbines

*Doesn’t include traditional rural windmills  _______________________________________________________________

Since the Senate didn’t create a massive exception for all wind turbines, the wind power proponents are trying to spin the story so it looks like the Senate just passed a new law to ban wind power.

A recent op-ed I wrote also discusses this issue.