FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13,
2010
Contact:
Dan Crawford
Conservation
Chair
Roanoke Group, Sierra Club
dbcrawford@cox.net
540.343.5080
LOCAL SIERRA CLUB VOTES TO SUPPORT POOR MOUNTAIN WIND
PROJECT
After a careful four-month process involving
lengthy discussions and a visit to the proposed site, the Executive
Committee of the Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club has voted to
conditionally endorse the proposal for 15 to 18 wind turbines on Poor
Mountain in Roanoke County. In addition to requiring that all
regulatory hurdles be cleared, the group stipulates that during the
state of Virginia's new Permit by Rule process, Invenergy must show
that the project will neither permanently compromise the quality of
Tier III waters in Bottom Creek nor wipe out local plant and wildlife
species that are threatened or endangered.
"We believe that the site meets Sierra Club standards
and that it is time to act" said the group's Chair, Bill Modica.
"These conditions identify our main concerns, and we think that the
developer can address them if proper measures are taken." Modica
noted that opponents of the project, including some club members, had
been given ample opportunity to express their views in several
meetings.
Dan Crawford, the group's conservation chair, pointed
out that the project has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by
98,000 tons annually, replacing some of the electricity generated by
coal-fired power plants. That amount represents the CO2
emissions of 20,000 cars. The project is estimated to generate
up to 45 million watts of electricity, enough to power about 10,000
homes.
"We have to start using clean, renewable energy," said
Crawford, "and this site offers an opportunity to begin doing so in
Virginia." Crawford also noted that the Tier III waters of Bottom
Creek are several miles from the project and that the state's new
Permit by Rule process will require extensive studies of birds, bats
and other wildlife with a public opportunity for comment as well as a
public meeting in the Roanoke area.
Bob Egbert, who formerly chaired the local group,
authored the resolution, taking care to stipulate protection for
Bottom Creek and for threatened and endangered species.
Sierra Club's action came after four months of study
culminating in a site visit by most of the committee members to the
proposed site, a 2,000-acre privately owned tract on Poor
Mountain. While there is opposition to the site from some local
residents, it was deemed to be acceptable due to its good wind
resources, ready access to power transmission lines, and proximity to
a population area where there is significant demand for
electricity.
About the Roanoke Group of the Sierra
Club:
The Roanoke Group is a unit of the Virginia Chapter
of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club, founded in 1892 by
the legendary John Muir, is the largest grass-roots environmental
organization in the world. We work on local, state,
national, and global environmental issues. We sponsor programs,
social, educational and recreational activities for our members and
the public including the popular monthly "Earth Friendly Friday"
programs. Our members, about 700 strong, live in Roanoke, Botetourt,
Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Franklin, Henry, and Patrick Counties,
and the cities and towns within them. The diversity of our area ranges
from the largest metropolitan area in southwest Virginia to some of
the most scenic and remote mountain regions of the state. See our
website. http://virginia.sierraclub.org/roanoke/
for more details.
RESOLUTION PASSED BY
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CONDITIONAL RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT
OF
POOR MOUNTAIN WIND PROJECT
Roanoke Group, Sierra Club (Passed
October 13, 2010)
The Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club
conditionally supports approval and completion
of Invenergy's wind
energy project for 15 to 18 turbines on private property on
Poor
Mountain in Roanoke County subject to the following
conditions:
1. The project must not permanently compromise the
quality of the state-designated
Tier III waters of Bottom Creek.
Invenergy's mitigation plan must meet this
criterion to the
satisfaction of the Roanoke Group's Ex Com.
2. The project must
not lead to the destruction of local plant or animal populations
on
site that are designated as threatened or endangered. Invenergy's
mitigation
plan must meet this criterion to the satisfaction of the
Roanoke Group's Ex Com.
3. Invenergy must meet the existing
statutory or regulatory requirements of all
applicable authorities
who have jurisdiction in this matter including, but not limited
to:
Roanoke County, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality,
Virginia
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and Federal
Aviation Administration, on
matters concerning environmental
impact, public safety, decommissioning
provisions and construction
standards.
The Roanoke Group supports the Poor Mt. project
because it should lead to reduced
greenhouse gas emissions, reduced
particulate and other emissions, and a reduced
dependence on
non-renewable fossil fuels. The project is consistent with Sierra
Club
priorities:
• The Sierra Club's national board of
directors has identified global warming as the
greatest challenge
to natural systems and therefore gives top priority to
advocating
measures, including onshore wind power, to address the
challenge. National Sierra
Club policy supports the direct use of
wind power as an alternate source of energy.
• We accept the
urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent
below
1990 levels by 2050, as called for by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate
Change. The transition away from fossil fuels, in
combination with conservation and
efficiency measures, would make
that possible.
• Invenergy's proposal has the potential to reduce
carbon emissions by approximately
98,000 tons a year, the
equivalent of taking about 20,000 cars off local roads.
• The
proposed turbine sites appear on National Renewable Energy Laboratory
maps
to have Class 4 (Good) or better wind resources.
• The
proposal meets the acceptability criteria of Sierra Club's Wind Siting
Advisory.
