Published: November 08, 2009 06:43 pm      

New Tazewell board members: No decision on wind turbines

TAZEWELL, Va. — The newly elected members of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors say they haven’t made a decision yet when it comes to wind turbines on East River Mountain.

“I’m going to have to research that a little bit better,” John Absher, who defeated incumbent Bill Wimmer for the Western District board seat, said when asked about wind turbines. “I haven’t made a decision on that one way or another. We are just going to have to talk about the pros and cons of it.”

Although the wind turbine project is not planned in his district, Absher said he has still had several questions from residents in the Claypool Hill and Cedar Bluff areas about windmills.

“I’ve had a lot of people to question me on that and ask if I’m for them or against them,” Absher said. “But I really need to know how much energy they can produce, and if we are going to benefit from that energy. There is a lot of questions to ask.”

James T. “Jim” Campbell Jr. defeated David Woodard for an open Northern District seat.

Campbell, who spoke briefly Tuesday night with the Daily Telegraph following his election victory, said he is working to educate himself on a variety of issues n Tazewell County.

“I’m aware of a lot of the issues going on right now,” Campbell said. “I’ve tried to do the best I can to educate myself on the issues. I just need to take a little bit of time, and talk to the current supervisors.”

Because the Northern District race was a special election, Campbell said his first meeting will be the Nov. 17 board meeting, which is when the board is scheduled to unveil the findings of its wind energy economic impact study.

Tuesday’s election changes the make-up of the current board to four Republicans and one Democrat.

Dominion and BP Wind Energy North America have proposed the development of as many as 60, 400-foot tall windmills along East River Mountain in Tazewell County.

Emil Avram, director of business development for Dominion, said the company stands ready to answer any questions the newly elected supervisors may have regarding the project.

“As we’ve said all along we are very willing to have open dialogue with the county government,” Avram said. “With the new board members we expect to go through the same question and answer process we’ve done for the others. We are happy to do that. We think it is great that they are keeping an open mind and we want to keep an open mind. We are happy to answer any questions they may have, and provide any information they may need, including going to see another wind farm if that is something they want to see and hear personally. We think this project will have a very positive economic and environmental impact benefits for the long term. This is something we are excited about, and we hope the county embraces it through their leadership and support.

Avram said Dominion and BP continue to acquire wind data on a real-time basis on East River Mountain.

“As you may know we have put up a second meteorological tower on the site just to gain more wind data,” Avram said.

Avram said Dominion also continues to study electrical connections between the wind turbines and the regional transmission grid. He said wildlife studies also continue at the site.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com