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Tall wind turbines in Botetourt will pose no hazard to aircraft, FAA determines
Tall wind turbines in Botetourt will pose no hazard to aircraft, FAA determines
By Laurence Hammack 981-3239 Aug 7, 2020
This computer simulation from Apex Clean Energy shows what the Rocky Forge Wind Farm would look like from a residence 1.1 miles away, but recently approved revisions to the plans call for taller turbines.
Making tall turbines 130 feet taller will not endanger passing aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration has determined.
In a step forward for a proposed wind farm in Botetourt County, the FAA found this week that turbines reaching as far as 680 feet into the sky from the top of a mountain would “not constitute a hazard to air navigation.”
It was the second time the agency has determined that the renewable energy project, to be located in a remote and rural spot about 17 miles from the nearest airport, would not pose a threat.
In 2016, it cleared plans to build up to 25 turbines, each one as tall as 550 feet. But construction never started as the developer, Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, spent the next three years looking for a customer to buy its power.
By the time a deal was reached with Virginia and Dominion Energy, which will purchase the power and then sell it to the state, new technology allowed fewer — although taller — turbines to produce the same electrical output.
{snip}
By Laurence Hammack 981-3239 Aug 7, 2020
This computer simulation from Apex Clean Energy shows what the Rocky Forge Wind Farm would look like from a residence 1.1 miles away, but recently approved revisions to the plans call for taller turbines.
Making tall turbines 130 feet taller will not endanger passing aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration has determined.
In a step forward for a proposed wind farm in Botetourt County, the FAA found this week that turbines reaching as far as 680 feet into the sky from the top of a mountain would “not constitute a hazard to air navigation.”
It was the second time the agency has determined that the renewable energy project, to be located in a remote and rural spot about 17 miles from the nearest airport, would not pose a threat.
In 2016, it cleared plans to build up to 25 turbines, each one as tall as 550 feet. But construction never started as the developer, Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, spent the next three years looking for a customer to buy its power.
By the time a deal was reached with Virginia and Dominion Energy, which will purchase the power and then sell it to the state, new technology allowed fewer — although taller — turbines to produce the same electrical output.
{snip}