Tazewell County delays vote on ordinance to restrict wind power
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors will wait until their February 2nd meeting to vote on a so-called “ridgeline protection ordinance.” The ordinance would severely restrict the ability of Dominion and BP to build a proposed large-scale wind power farm on the East River Mountainin the County.
The proposed ordinance would also made it difficult to deliver the 150 new jobs and more than $10 million in local tax revenue the project promises to bring to Tazewell County.
While some residents are concerned about the impact of the mountaintop wind farm on property values, many have expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to bring jobs and economic development to the region. Last week, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph spoke to Tazewell County resident and wind farm support Damon Ball.
Damon Ball of Tazewell said the county is at a crossroads. Ball said there is no denying the millions of dollars in benefits and new services the turbine project will provide for Tazewell County.
‘Some people sneer at the number of permanent jobs,” Ball said. “But go and ask the 10 people who were just laid off at VDOT. Jobs are important to Tazewell County. Every job is important.’
BP and Dominion say the proposed Tazewell County wind farm would consist of 60, 400-foot tall wind turbines that would generate as much as 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly 30,000 to 40,000 homes.
