The Shadow
The Rocky Forge Wind Project that the Botetourt Board of Supervisors approved on Jan. 26, 2016, to permit Apex Clean Energy to erect 25 wind turbines on North Mountain remains controversial.
While the Sierra Club, an influential grassroots environmental group, is on record as having voiced its approval of the project via its Roanoke representative, Virginians for Responsible Energy, a local nonprofit organization made up of 40 members from the counties of Botetourt, Rockbridge, and Alleghany, continues to lead the opposition to nix the project.
The issue may be put to rest or thrown a lifeline to continue at the Botetourt Board of Supervisors’ meeting on March 11.
Apex Clean Energy’s plan to construct 25 wind turbines 550 feet tall has been revised to make the wind turbines taller, 680 feet before being modified to 612 feet which the corporation projects will cut down the number of wind turbines needed to meet energy production projections.
The modified plan calls for 12 to 15 to produce the projected electricity that the company has advertised will light 20,000 homes. By constructing fewer wind turbines, Apex will cut its construction cost that has risen due to inflation that has taken place since the project was approved six years ago, and maintenance costs would be cut as well.
Technology has improved as well, and the newer technology that Apex can utilize will increase efficiency that engineers believe will help the bottom line once the wind turbines are operational.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has played a role in the delay of the project in terms of permits. After a necessary permit was obtained by Apex Clean Energy out of Charlottesville, the permit ran out during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Commonwealth of Virginia extended certain permits for two years.
That decision has set the stage for the current debate about whether Virginia’s governmental action applies to the expired permit obtained by Apex Clean Energy.
Aside from the validity of the permit issue, many other issues concerning the Rocky Forge Wind Project have been brought to the public’s attention by Virginians for Responsible Energy, the nonprofit that has filed a lawsuit to prevent Apex Clean Energy from pursuing the project.
The fact that neighboring Rockbridge County’s officials requested that the Botetourt Board of Supervisors delay making a decision to approve the project in 2016 until those opposing the project in Rockbridge County could voice their opposition remains a force at play in the struggle between those who favor Apex Clean Energy’s project and those who oppose the project.
Also, the political change in Virginia made by Governor Glenn Youngkin when he issued executive order #9, may favor Virginians for Responsible Energy. Executive order #9 officially removed Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
The RGGI is the nation’s first cooperative effort by states banning together to pursue a market-based effort to cap and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The states that remain in RGGI are Maine, Mass., Vt., N.H., Conn., N.J., N.Y., R.I. and Md.
The Northeastern U.S. “carbon market” determines and regulates emission limits for gas power plants and coal power plants. RGGI enables utilities to purchase “carbon credits” whenever emissions surpass the limits RGGI has set.
Proponents of Rocky Forge Wind Project claim that the project once completed will help the U.S. transition from its reliance on fossil fuels to reliance on green renewable energy that will tackle the problem of climate change.
The proposed $100 million “wind farm” project on top of North Mountain faces opposition from citizens in Rockbridge County who maintain that the unsightly wind turbines will ruin the view.
Others claim that the sight of the giant wind turbines with rotating blades the length of a football field will draw tourists to view what would become Virginia’s first on-shore “wind farm.”
Also, opposition in Rockbridge County centers around aesthetic concerns held by some officials who believe the project would hurt the scenery-based tourism that Rockbridge Country currently enjoys.
Other opponents of the “wind farm” note that nothing is being farmed, and they oppose the use of “wind farm” terminology as well as the project itself, pointing out that Rocky Forge Wind Project, if completed, will more than likely kill eastern Golden Eagles that migrate south from Northern Canada along with many birds and bats.
Eastern Golden Eagles prefer high mountains with cliffs as nesting places and use updrafts created by that environment to soar.
Environmentalists who favor the Rocky Forge Wind project point out that the eastern Golden Eagles do not nest as far south as Botetourt County while those who oppose the project fear that the huge wind Turbines that are responsible in other locations for killing thousands of birds and bats will prove deadly for the eastern Golden Eagles because the project if it is completed lies within the eastern Golden Eagles’ migratory path.
Eastern Golden Eagles are considered to be a vital part of the Appalachian Mountains’ ecosystem in that they feed on young White-tailed Deer, grouse, turkeys, rabbits, waterfowl and carrion.
There are members of the Virginians for Responsible Energy who are greatly concerned about the negative environmental impact the project will have, if approved. Property owners who live on the west side of North Mountain near Eagle Rock are deeply concerned about the potential pollution that the preparation of the project site may cause followed by the erecting of the wind turbines and maintenance of them.
The property owners also worry about the negative impact the giant wind turbines may have on the value of their property as well as their own health that may suffer from the low-frequency noise that the turning blades produce, sounds that spread as far as 25 miles from their source.
Property owners point out that the building of the project will cause pollution and displacement of trees during the building of the road to the site.
Many who live there are members of Virginians for Responsible Energy, and they are advocates for the protection of the watershed and the creeks that provide a natural habitat for native trout. They worry that silt may fill the creeks that run from the west side of North Mountain to feed the Jackson River,
Proponents of the Rocky Forge Wind project point out that Botetourt County will receive millions of dollars in yearly taxes for 25-30 years.
Others who favor the project predict that 200 jobs will be created during the construction of the project that will create seven permanent jobs.
Apex Clean Energy has run into more problems than permits and public opposition in that Dominion Energy has not agreed to renew its contract to purchase energy generated by the Rocky Forge Wind project after it is built, leaving Apex Clean Energy without a buyer.
Mark Goodwin, Apex Clean Energy’s founder and CEO who was a naval helicopter pilot who served three tours of duty in the Persian Gulf, projects that the project will provide enough electricity to provide electricity for 20,000 homes on a daily basis.
However, Professor Steven P. Hart, P.E., an adjunct professor at VMI who became a professional engineer in 1992 after graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1988 where he earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering, has publically expressed concerns about the Rocky Forge Wind Project.
In 1998, Hart earned his M. Eng. in civil engineering from VPI, and in 2008, he was awarded his Ph.D. in civil engineering from Kansas State University.
Hart has evaluated a study of wind currents that was completed by James Madison University at a mountain next to North Mountain, and he has cast doubt upon the projected output of electricity that can be generated should the proposed wind turbines be erected.
He questions the data that Apex Clean Energy has provided and has called upon Apex to release more information about the actual data collected that Apex has based its predictions on in order to conclude that 20,000 homes can be served.
Hart points out that Apex is pointing to the maximum potential rather than how much electricity can be generated, and he has expressed doubt that the location is as good as Apex has predicted.
Dan Crawford, chairman of the executive committee of the Roanoke group of the Sierra Club, has voiced approval of the project, noting that there are already powerlines running through the proposed site, and he touts the project as being the first on-shore “wind farm” in Virginia.
He maintains that Rocky Forge is one of the most desirable sites in Virginia because it is located on private property in a remote area that is located not too far away from potential customers.
What started out to be 25 wind turbines 550 feet tall has been altered to 15 wind turbines 680 feet tall (later reduced to 612 feet tall after Botetourt Board of Supervisors approved the taller wind turbines that according to Apex Clean Energy will generate more electricity and cut corporate costs in terms of maintenance and construction.
Goodwin returned home after his service in the military, and while in Palm Springs, Calif., he became inspired by the turbine fields he observed.
Apex Clean Energy Holdings, LLC employees 200 across all of its locations, and according to published figures, generates between $37.09 million to $86.74 million, depending on which year the corporate earnings have been posted.
Originally, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the “Rocky Forge Wind Project, but a later vote concerning the continuing support via proper permitting of the project was only approved by a 3-2 vote.
Eric Claunch, a retired military man who spent 20 years serving his country, resides in Eagle Rock, and he leads the opposition against the Rocky Forge Wind Project. Claunch’s father was a professor at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College.
Eric points out that the U.S. Air Force has a training route that extends across North Mountain and that Dominion Energy is no longer a buyer because of availability of energy sources from offshore wind farms that have been approved.
Claunch expressed his concern that the low noise frequency produced from the turning rotors cannot be heard by humans just as a dog whistle is too high pitched for the human to hear but that the low pitched sound has a negative impact on wildlife as can the shadow flicker from the rotating rotor blades.
He said, “The bigger the blades and the taller the wind turbine is, the more space it will need around it.”
More space around wind turbines translates to more of the natural environment being converted to bases for the wind turbines along with an area extending beyond the bases. Thus, more runoff, more timber lost, more natural habitat destroyed, plus more traffic in and out of the site which also contributes to pollution.
Claunch referenced information that one single 3MW onshore turbine needs 600 cubic yards (1,500 tons) of concrete plus rebar.
Hart noted in his study that the turning of the rotors may have a negative impact on the area’s weather because the turning of the rotors potentially could contribute to the cooling of the air that would in turn create more frost in Lexington and Rockbridge County.
While Claunch and the members of Virginians for Responsible Energy are fighting to protect the scenic beauty, natural habitat, bats, birds and watershed, those opposed to Virginians for Responsible Energy are favoring the production of electricity for financial gain and economic development.
The outcome of the controversial Rocky Forge Wind Project will either fit into what was Thomas Jefferson’s vision for the American Republic, to function as an agrarian society, or fit into the vision of those who followed Jefferson by advocating for the expansion of commercial capitalism.
The irony of the situation is that two ex-military men have opposing views of what is best for America and that environmental groups in the area have diametrically opposing views of what is best for the environment.
Botetourt County Circuit Judge Joel Branscom will hear the plaintiff’s case that has been set for the morning of Friday, March 11.
