On Friday night in Asheville, I attended a wind energy workshop
with Clint.  The workshop was put together by the ASU Energy
Center, the State Energy Office, and the NC Wind Working Group.

Here are some highlights:

– Attendees basically were friends of the panelists–it was like a
strategy session for the wind industry instead of a true public forum.

– An attendee that also was filming the event for the organizations
stated that the only people against wind power are the John Locke
Foundation and Al-Qaeda.  As I explained on The Wild West, I’m pretty sure Al-Qaeda uses wind power for their caves.

– A woman from Ashe County, where they passed an ordinance regulating
wind power plants, spoke up at the meeting.  She asked why there
couldn’t be some balance between pushing wind power and protecting our
ridgelines.  She was making a reasonable point.

After she
left, someone mentioned to the audience (innocently) that she had
left.  At least one person clapped when this announcement was made.

– AG Roy Cooper was heaviliy critized at the meeting for his correct
interpretation of the Ridge Law.  This is the law that prohibits
wind turbines from being built on the ridgelines.  The presenters
suggested that his interpretation came about due to rich people living
along the ridgelines.  The ASU Energy Center presentation failed
to mention that the Public Staff (which is supposed to represent
consumers before the Utilities Commission but is usually just trying to
appease utilities and environmental groups) also agreed with Cooper’s
opinion.

In another post, I’ll go through why the interpretation
is obviously correct–in fact, I was shocked they actually spent so
much time complaining about the interpretation which for most sane
people is a given.

On a serious note, I think the biggest lesson learned is how extreme
the wind proponents are–I’ll leave it to others to make judgments
about their behavior.  Their comment about Al-Qaeda was a
suggestion that anyone that opposes wind power is like Al-Qaeda. 
Not once did the taxpayer-supported ASU Energy Center call on the
audience for any kind of courtesy.  This was especially troubling
since it was supposed to be a public forum, not a private wind power
lovefest.

One audience member even “joked” about imposing bodily harm on Roy Cooper.

For
individuals that live in the mountains, don’t assume that the Ridge Law
is going to protect you.  It is clear that these extremists are
going to lobby for a misinterpretation of the Ridge Law (they already
apparently have), or to try and amend the Ridge Law.  There also
is a possibility that they will try and get local acts to exempt
certain areas from the Ridge Law.

For coastal residents, you have no protection.

It will be a tough fight against this massive push for wind power.  The American Wind Energy Association
is a powerful lobbying group made up of huge corporate interests (even
including an “evil” oil company: BP), and one of the leading
rent-seeking companies in the world, General Electric.  Top that
off with zealots that compare any opponents to wind power as
terrorists, it will be an uphill battle.

Hopefully, state legislators in the mountains and on the coast will
fight for their local communities instead of appeasing these special
interests.