NC to Reduce Wind Projects

Though wind energy can be highly beneficial to the environment, North Carolina is taking a stand against it. In the strongest vote against wind turbines in any state, the North Carolina State Senate voted 42 to one Thursday, August 6. Specifically, lawmakers voted to ban large wind turbines in the state’s most scenic Western ridgelines. The proposed bill would amend a 1983 law to allow turbines that are only 100 feet or smaller to be built on ridgelines of 3,000 feet or higher. The bill has been sent to the House of Representatives, which may take several months to be examined, and a passed bill would essentially ban two-thirds of onshore wind sources in North Carolina, according to wind program coordinator of the Southern Alliance of Clean Energy Brandon R. Blevins.