Virginia Wind Farm Looks Dead

Filed in archive Wind on February 2, 2010

© vaxomatic


The Tazewell County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Ridgeline Protection Ordinance tonight that will probably prevent Dominion Power and BP from building a wind farm on East River Mountain, overlooking the city of Bluefield on the Virginia-West Virginia state line.

The wind farm issue has been around in the Virginia county for over a year now. The predictable forces have marshalled up against each other. On the one side property rights groups and business interests have pushed for the wind farm. On the other hand, environmental groups teamed up with home owners who fear their property values will drop because of the windmills.

I posted these comments to a local forum on why I was against this particular project:

• First, I don't think it will create many long term jobs. Ten to 15 long term jobs is about the same as getting a new Pizza Hut. That's not a huge economic impact.


• Second, I don't think the revenue will be that much. In other states the windmill industry has gone to the state capital and managed to get the law changed so that property tax on a windmill is greatly lower or eliminated. They haven't done that here yet, but they'll try. There is also reason to believe that surrounding home values will drop, and offset any gains in property tax revenue from the windmills.


• Third, I think windmills will soon be seen as an out of date approach to harvesting natural motion. I think harvesting ocean wave motion will eventually replace it.


• Fourth, there is some obvious environmental impact. Maybe if it weren't for my other concerns I'd be willing to consider tolerating that environment impact. Maybe.

I don't think of myself as a NIMBY person. IN any event, BP and Dominion are likely to head next door to Bland County. And if they're not well received there they'll move a little further down I-77 to Wythe County. Eventually, there'll probably be another Appalachian wind farm...