Wind power project derailed by Tazewell County Supervisors
In a defeat for the movement to boost in-state energy production, the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors voted in early February to essentially block development of a $200 million, 100-megawatt wind farm that Dominion and BP had planned to build along a ridgeline on East River Mountain.
The highly contentious “ridgeline protection” ordinance passed by the board limits the height of structures on East River Mountain’s rideglines to 40 feet reports the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. The new restriction will effectively prevent Dominion and BP from building the 400-foot wind turbines that would be required to generate mountaintop wind power.
The vote by the board to effectively ban mountaintop wind power in the county delivers a major setback to efforts to increase Virginia’s in-state production of energy. The Tazewell County wind farm would have produced enough electricity to power 30,000 to 40,000 homes in the region. The project also promised to be a major economic windfall for the county – 150 new jobs and more than $10 million in local tax revenue over the next 20 years. An independent economic impact study performed for the county also predicted that the project would generate more than $10 million in new revenue for local businesses during the construction phase.
Fortunately, Dominion and BP are still on track to build an even larger 150-megawatt wind power farm in neighboring Wise County that will provide electricity to more than 50,000 homes in the region.
