Senator wants moratorium on windmills

Senator wants moratorium on windmills

BY J.J. STAMBAUGH
stambaugh@knews.com

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is asking the Tennessee Valley Authority to place a two-year moratorium on new windmills, even though the agency says it doesn't have any plans to build more.

In a letter sent to TVA Directors Bill Baxter and Skila Harris, Alexander said he wants the moratorium to cover "new wind farms — either by TVA or on TVA-controlled land."

Alexander said the moratorium should be in effect "until the new TVA board, Congress and local officials can evaluate the impact on these massive structures on our electric rates, our view of the mountains and our tourism industry."

"TVA is a national leader in producing clean energy through nuclear and hydroelectric power," he said. "A moratorium on windmills would give Tennesseans two years to stop and think about the wisdom and cost of building hundreds of 100-yard-tall structures across our most scenic ridges."

Harris and Baxter replied to Alexander's request in writing Monday.

"TVA has no plans for additional wind turbines during the next two years of your requested moratorium and well beyond that," they said.

In their letter to Alexander, they discussed TVA's Green Power Switch Program, which relies in part upon windmills on Buffalo Mountain.

The program "allows consumers in the Tennessee Valley the option of supporting power generation from a mix of renewable resources — solar, methane gas and wind," they said.

They said the recently expanded wind farm on Buffalo Mountain "provides approximately 29 megawatts, or 73 percent of the renewable energy offered through" the program.

"Overall, our planning scenarios for Green Power Switch do not project the need for additional generation until 2018," they wrote.

Alexander has drawn fire from environmentalists for introducing a bill that would give local governments veto power over wind farm projects and require environmental impact statements for windmill construction in offshore areas and within 20 miles of certain scenic areas and military bases.

What most upset environmentalists and windmill manufacturers, however, was a provision in the bill that would eliminate tax credits for projects in those restricted areas.

Critics argued that more tax credits — not less — were needed.

Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, for instance, described Alexander's legislation last week as "the most direct assault on wind power we've ever seen by a United States senator."

Smith said wind power should be a part of an energy mix that includes other clean, renewable power sources. He also said his organization would like to see the tax credits extended for another five years.