The N.C. Senate today passed a bill that would block wind energy development - and the economic boost it provides - across much of North Carolina for three years.
Senate Bill S377, "Military Base Protection Act," sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Jones, Onslow), would set a three-year moratorium on wind project development across a large swath of eastern North Carolina and a number of other areas of the state. This would follow on an 18-month wind energy moratorium that ended in December 2018.
The bill claims the moratorium would allow time for the federal government to develop guidance on how wind energy facilities - and their impact on military operations, training and readiness - would affect base realignment and closure procedures.
The off-limits areas are designated on a map that accompanies the bill, but it bears a disclaimer stating that it is based on data that is subject to change and “is offered without any warranty.” The affected areas include Pasquotank and Perquimans counties, where the Amazon East Wind Farm became each county’s single largest property taxpayer when it began operating in February 2017.
One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir, Wayne) pledged in committee that ongoing negotiations on the bill would end with the moratorium removed from the final measure, but it remained when the bill reached the Senate floor.
"This arbitrary and unnecessary measure would cut off economic opportunities across North Carolina, but especially in the east, where wind energy is a proven success," said Molly Diggins, state director for the N.C. Sierra Club. "Two Tier I counties have profited handsomely from the Amazon wind farm and the region has room for more. This measure would be an economic death blow."
"What’s more, it simply isn’t needed," Diggins said. "The Department of Defense’s Siting Clearinghouse exists precisely to provide the direct oversight necessary to protect any current or anticipated military activities in the United States. Also, unlike many other states, North Carolina has its own state permitting program put into law in 2013 with the support of Senator Brown. It explicitly gives the state the authority to deny a permit for a wind farm if it in any way compromises military air or training space."
