Published: January 05, 2009 08:51 pm      

Board member voices support for windmill project

TAZEWELL, Va. — At least one member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors is expressing support for a proposed windmill project on East River Mountain.

Mike Hymes, the Southern District Board of Supervisors member, said he supports alternative energy sources that may help to lower energy prices.

The Board of Supervisors are expected to vote tonight to schedule a public hearing on a proposed ridgeline ordinance, which if adopted, would give the county the power to regulate the development of windmills. An unidentified company is considering the development of 60, 400-foot tall windmills along the crest of East River Mountain in Bluefield, Va.

Hymes said the board is seeking public input regarding the proper management and location of windmills since the county currently has no authority to regulate such projects.

“The board is going to listen to all sides and try to accommodate both the property owners who want the windmills and the members of the community who are against them,” Hymes said Monday. “I support alternative energy sources which may lower energy prices to our citizens. This installation will bring economic development to the county and income to property owners.”

Hymes said additional issues the board will have to deal with are the proper taxation of the energy produced by the windmill sites and the bonding of the sites.

“The energy produced must be treated similarly to gas, oil and coal and taxed,” Hymes said. “If in the future wind energy becomes obsolete, the citizens of the county should not be left with a liability and no money to reclaim the sites so bonding is a must for the sites.”.

The board meeting begins today at 6 p.m. at the county administration building at 108 East Main Street, Tazewell. A scheduled and unscheduled citizens comment section of the meeting is scheduled for later in the evening.

The windmill project is large in scope. As currently proposed, the height of the blade of the windmill when it is at its highest point would extend between 389 to 400 feet tall, according to an earlier report by Tazewell County Attorney Eric Young. The concrete base upon which each individual windmill would rest is 10 feet deep, and approximately 50 feet wide.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com