NC Wind Turbines, NC Mountain Industrail Wind Turbines

Recent Political Activity	Ashe County Wind Ordinance	The NC Ridge Law


Recent Political Activity
In March 2009 Senator Steve Goss introduced a bill to the NC General Assembly that addressed the permitting of wind energy facilities. The bill was also designed to change the wording of the “Ridge Law” (see below for discussion of the Ridge Law). It has become apparent that Senator Goss and Appalachian State University faculty members have been working together in hopes of weakening the Ridge Law so that the tallest mountain ridges of NC (those over 3000 ft. that are currently protected by the Ridge Law) would be subject to commercial wind development. The original version of Senate Bill 1068, which was introduced by Senator Goss, was rejected by the majority of mountain county Senators and the Senate Finance Committee. A later version of the bill would only permit wind turbines under 100 ft. for residential use to be placed on protected ridges. Wind turbines placed on lower ridges would continue to be regulated by local county and city ordinances. The later version of SB 1068 passed the Senate by a vote of 43-1. This was clearly a bipartisan decision that reflected constituents’ belief that nature conservation was more important than the small amount electricity generated by commercial wind turbines. The bill is now in the House of Representatives and will be addressed in May 2010. Visit the Get Involved page to send an email to the General Assembly that states your opposition to commercial wind development on our tallest mountain ridges. Keepers of the Blue Ridge believe the bill that passed the Senate is a fair compromise that limits but does not ban wind development in Western North Carolina. We support the use of small scale wind turbines to supplement residential and small business energy demands, but believe that our tallest ridge tops are a valuable asset that should be protected from commercial wind development. The intermittent, small amount of electricity produced by commercial wind plants does not justify permanently damaging one of NC’s most valuable assets.



The NC Ridge Law
The development of industrial scale wind plants in western North Carolina is a legal, political, economic, and environmental question. In order to understand the current situation of proposed wind energy in North Carolina , it is necessary to understand the relevancy of the "Ridge Law". In 1983, following the construction of an obtrusive high rise condominium on Sugar Mountain in Avery County, public outrage led to the NC General Assembly's enactment of The NC Mountain Ridge Protection Act (G.S. 113A-205). The Ridge Law prevents structures exceeding 40 feet from being erected along ridge tops exceeding 3000 feet. There are several exceptions, but the ones relevant to this discussion are: structures of a relatively slender nature and minor vertical projections of a parent building, including chimneys, flagpoles, spires, steeples, belfries, cupolas, antennas, poles, wires, or windmills* .* The interpretation of this wording is currently in dispute. In the fall of 2001, the Tennessee Valley Authority attempted to establish an industrial scale wind plant in Tennessee near the NC border, and possibly into NC. This attempt met considerable opposition by NC residents. A Feb. 2002 letter from NC Attorney General Roy Cooper to the TVA asserted that the wind turbines (defining them as different from windmills) would be prohibited by the Ridge Law. It is our belief that the Attorney General's interpretation of the Ridge Law is thorough, well reasoned and correct, and clearly prohibits installation of wind turbines. For Wind Developers and advocates to imply that 400 ft. wind turbines are exempt while 40 ft. tall buildings or structures are not is ludicrous, and would render the Ridge Law useless.