Published: March 29, 2009 09:27 pm      

Preservation group voices opposition to windmill project

TAZEWELL, Va. — Six weeks ago, Ann Robinson of Falls Mills, Va., had never heard of wind turbines, but on Sunday afternoon, she was expressing her concerns over a BP Dominion’s proposed wind turbine farm on East River Mountain in Tazewell County, Va.

“At first I thought, oh well, wind energy, this is green ... this is a good thing, but then I started researching wind turbines and learned differently,” Robinson said to a crowd of 68 people gathered in Fuller Peery Hall on the Tazewell County Fairgrounds to hear from Dr. Pamela Crowson Dodds, and her husband, Arthur W. Dodds Jr., and learn more about their prospective on wind turbines.

“Maybe some of you are here because you don’t want to see wind turbines on our ridge lines,” Robinson said. “Maybe some of you aren’t sure, and you want to learn more.” She explained that the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors is considering a tall structure ordinance, but said the board is split between a strong ordinance and a less stringent ordinance.

“These wind turbines don’t operate when they are needed most,” Pamela Dodds said just prior to the start of the joint presentation. “They use a lot of energy as well, so they are contributing to burning even more fossil fuels.”

“After we first got into this, we learned it was not wind energy,” Art Dodds said during his power point presentation. “It was not renewable energy. It was politics.” He added that he and his wife came to Tazewell County from their home in Montrose, to help prepare members of the Mountain Preservation Association. “The biggest problem is that the community has to start from zero.”

Art Dodds said he and his wife have been learning about wind turbines for the past seven years and both are “master naturalists.” Pamela Dodds’ area of expertise is in the field of geology and her husband’s field is cartography. Both had a great deal of information to share with the group concerning wind turbines on ridge lines in the Allegheny Mountain Range of Virginia and West Virginia.

“Windmills were not on my radar screen until a few weeks ago,” Father Mark Tyson, pastor of St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Bluefield said. He became involved in the Mountain Preservation Association for several reasons. “This is a deception ... a scam,” Tyson said. He said wind turbines have a low efficiency rating and added that they are “net users of electricity.”

Teresa Paine made a brief appeal for volunteers as well as financial contributions to help keep the Mountain Preservation Association afloat, while Frazier and Phyllis Miller greeted people at the door, asking them to sign a petition stating their opposition to wind turbine development on East River Mountain.

“I’ve been with (the Mountain Preservation Association) since the beginning,” Wayne Evans said. He said that it is vital to get information about wind turbines out to the public.

Robinson urged people at the meeting to contact members of the Tazewell County board of supervisors to let them know their feelings. “Your voice should be heard,” she said. Robinson said the supervisors will have another public hearing on the ordinance perhaps in the summer. She urged people to attend that meeting and “get involved,” she said.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com