[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 76 (Thursday, June 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6301-S6304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. Warner):
S. 1208. A bill to provide for local control for the siting of
windmills; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, in order to protect our Nation's most
scenic areas, Senator Warner, the senior Senator from Virginia, and I
are today introducing a revised version of the Environmentally
Responsible Windpower Act of 2005. It will be introduced in the House
of Representatives by Congressman John Duncan, a Republican, who is
chairman of the Water Resources Subcommittee, and by Representative
Bart Gordon, a Democrat, who is the ranking Democrat on the Science and
Technology Committee.
Senator Warner and I have listened to our colleagues, and we have
made several changes in our initial bill to simplify it and to make it
the kind of bill we hope all Senators will think makes good sense. What
we have done is to simplify the local notification procedures and to
more precisely protect scenic areas of the country without impacting
the entire coastline. We have also removed a provision regarding
military bases that was in our bill since that can be addressed in
other legislation.
Our revised bill would do three things:
No. 1, to protect America's most scenic treasures, such as the Grand
Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, and deny Federal subsidies for giant wind turbines within 20
miles of any national park, national military park, national seashore,
national lakeshore, or 20 World Heritage sites in the United States.
No. 2, to protect our most pristine coastlines, it would deny Federal
subsidies for wind turbines less than 20 miles offshore, which is the
horizon of a national seashore, a national lakeshore, or a National
Wildlife Refuge.
No. 3, to enhance local control, which most of us believe in, it
would give communities a 180-day timeout period from when a wind
project is filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in which
to review local zoning laws related to the placement of these giant
wind turbines.
This legislation is necessary because my research suggests that if
the present policies are continued we will spend over the next 5 years
nearly $4.5 billion to subsidize windmills. Because of those large
subsidies, the number of the giant wind turbines in the United States
is expected to grow from 6,700 today to 40,000, or even double that
number in 20 years according to estimates by the Department of Energy
and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
These wind turbines are not your grandmother's windmills, gently
pumping water from the farm well. Here is just one example, which my
colleagues from Alabama and South Carolina will especially appreciate.
The University of Tennessee has the second largest football stadium in
America, seating 107,000 people. The Senator from Alabama and I sat
there while Auburn University beat the tar out of the University of
Tennessee last year. I ask him to imagine that just one of these giant
wind turbines would fit into that stadium. It would rise to more than
twice the height of the highest skybox.
Its rotor blades would stretch almost from 10-yard line to 10-yard
line. And on a clear night, its flashing red lights could be seen for
20 miles. Usually, these wind turbines are located in wind farms
containing 20 or more, but the number can be more than 100. They work
best, of course, where the wind blows best which, in our part of the
country, is along scenic coastlines or scenic ridgetops.
Now, reasonable Members of this body may disagree about the cost,
effectiveness, and appropriateness of such wind turbines. We can have
that debate at another time. But at least we ought to be able to agree
not to subsidize building them in places that damage our most scenic
areas and coastlines.
Since wind turbines of this giant size are such a relatively new
phenomenon, it fits our American traditions to give local communities
time to stop and think about their most appropriate location.
In conclusion, Mr. President, let me emphasize that our legislation
does not prohibit the building of a single wind turbine. It only denies
a Federal taxpayer subsidy in highly scenic areas. And it ensures local
governments have the time to review wind turbine proposals.
This revised version does not give local authorities any power they
do not already have. It simply gives them a little time to act.
We intend to offer our legislation as an amendment when the full
Senate debates the Energy bill next week, and we hope our colleagues
will join us in this effort to ensure the Federal Government does not
provide tax incentives that ruin the beauty of our most pristine and
scenic areas around our country.
Egypt has its pyramids, Italy has its art, England has its history,
and the United States has the great American outdoors. We should prize
that and protect it where we can. One way to do that is to make sure
when we look at the Statue of Liberty, when we look at the Great Smoky
Mountains, when we look at the Grand Canyon, we do not have giant
windmills, twice as tall as Neyland Stadium, with flashing red lights,
in between us and that landscape.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
the text of the legislation which Senator Warner and I are introducing,
a copy of the attachment which includes the approximately 200 highly
scenic sites that could be protected by the Environmentally Responsible
Windpower Act of 2005, and two editorials from Tennessee newspapers--
one from the Chattanooga Times Free Press and one from the Knoxville
News Sentinel--which comment on the previous legislation we introduced.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1208
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Environmentally Responsible
Windpower Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. LOCAL CONTROL FOR SITING OF WINDMILLS.
(a) Local Notification.--Prior to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission issuing to any wind turbine project its
Exempt-Wholesale Generator Status, Market-Based Rate
Authority, or Qualified Facility rate schedule, the wind
project shall complete its Local Notification Process.
(b) Local Notification Process.--
(1) In this section, the term ``Local Authorities'' means
the governing body, and the senior executive of the body, at
the lowest level of government that possesses authority under
State law to carry out this Act.
(2) Applicant shall notify in writing the Local Authorities
on the day of the filing of such Market-Based Rate
application or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Form
number 556 (or a successor form) at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission. Evidence of such notification shall be
submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(3) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall notify
in writing the Local Authorities within 10 days of the filing
of such Market-Based Rate application or Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Form number 556 (or a successor form)
at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(4) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall not
issue to the project Market-Based Rate Authority, Exempt
Wholesaler Generator Status, or Qualified Facility rate
schedule, until 180 days after the date on which the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission notifies the Local Authorities
under paragraph (3).
(c) Highly Scenic Area and Federal Land.--
(1) A Highly Scenic Area is--
(A) any area listed as an official United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World
Heritage Site, as
[[Page S6302]]
supported by the Department of the Interior, the National
Park Service, and the International Council on Monuments and
Sites;
(B) land designated as a National Park;
(C) a National Lakeshore;
(D) a National Seashore;
(E) a National Wildlife Refuge that is adjacent to an
ocean; or
(F) a National Military Park.
(2) A Qualified Wind Project is any wind-turbine project
located--
(A)(i) in a Highly Scenic Area; or
(ii) within 20 miles of the boundaries of an area described
in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (F) of paragraph (1);
or
(B) within 20 miles off the coast of a National Wildlife
Refuge that is adjacent to an ocean.
(3) Prior to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
issuing to a Qualified Wind Project its Exempt-Wholesale
Generator Status, Market-Based Rate Authority, or Qualified
Facility rate schedule, an environmental impact statement
shall be conducted and completed by the lead agency in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). If no lead agency is designated,
the lead agency shall be the Department of the Interior.
(4) The environmental impact statement determination shall
be issued within 12 months of the date of application.
(5) Such environmental impact statement review shall
include a cumulative impacts analysis addressing visual
impacts and avian mortality analysis of a Qualified Wind
Project.
(6) A Qualified Wind Project shall not be eligible for any
Federal tax subsidy.
(d) Effective Date.--
(1) This section shall expire 10 years after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent or discourage
environmental review of any wind projects or any Qualified
Wind Project on a State or local level.
Scenic Sites Protected by the Environmentally Responsible Windpower Act
of 2005
ALABAMA
National Parks: Little River Canyon National Preserve.
National Military Parks: Horseshoe Bend.
ALASKA
National Parks: Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates of
the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Glacier Bay National
Park & Preserve, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Kenai
Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark
National Park & Preserve, Wrangell-St, Elias National Park &
Preserve.
World Heritage Sites: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve,
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Izembek National
Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge,
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak National Wildlife
Refuge, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge.
ARIZONA
National Parks: Grand Canyon National Park, Petrified
Forest National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Grand Canyon National Park.
ARKANSAS
National Parks: Hot Springs National Park.
National Military Parks: Pea Ridge.
CALIFORNIA
National Parks: Channel Islands National Park, Death Valley
National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Lassen Volcanic
National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Sequoia &
Kings Canyon National Parks, Yosemite National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Redwood National Park, Yosemite
National Park.
National Seashores: Point Reyes National Seashore.
National Wildlife Refuqes: Castle Rock National Wildlife
Refuge, Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Farallon
National Wildlife Refuge, Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National
Wildlife Refuge, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Marin
Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Salinas River National
Wildlife Refuge, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, San
Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Seal Beach National
Wildlife Refuge, Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge.
COLORADO
National Parks: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park,
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Mesa Verde
National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Mesa Verde.
CONNECTICUT
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Stewart B. McKinney
National Wildlife Refuge.
DELAWARE
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Bombay Hook National
Wildlife Refuge, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.
FLORIDA
National Parks: Biscayne National Park, Dry Tortugas
National Park, Everglades National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Everglades National Park.
National Seashores: Canaveral National Seashore, Gulf
Islands National Seashore.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuge Sites: Archie Carr
National Wildlife Refuge, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge, Cedar Keys National Wildlife
Refuge, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, Crocodile
Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Crystal River National
Wildlife Refuge, Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Great
White Heron National Wildlife Refuge, Hobe Sound National
Wildlife Refuge, Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge, J. N.
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Key West National
Wildlife Refuge, Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge,
Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge, Merritt Island
National Wildlife Refuge, National Key Deer Refuge National
Wildlife Refuge, Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge,
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Pine Island National
Wildlife Refuge, Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge, St. Johns
National Wildlife Refuge, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge,
St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge, Ten Thousand Islands
National Wildlife Refuge.
GEORGIA
National Seashores: Cumberland Island National Seashore.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Blackbeard Island
National Wildlife Refuge, Harris Neck National Wildlife
Refuge, Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge, Wolf Island National
Wildlife Refuge.
HAWAII
National Parks: Haleakala National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Oahu Forest National
Wildlife Refuge, Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, Kilauea
National Wildlife Refuge, Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge,
Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Pearl Harbor National
Wildlife Refuge, Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge.
IDAHO
National Parks: Yellowstone National Park.
ILLINOIS
World Heritage Sites: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
INDIANA
National Seashores: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
KENTUCKY
National Parks: Mammoth Cave National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Mammoth Cave National Park.
LOUISIANA
Coastal National Heritage Sites: Bayou Teche National
Wildlife Refuge, Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge, Breton
National Wildlife Refuge, Delta National Wildlife Refuge,
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Shell Keys National Wildlife
Refuge.
MAINE
National Parks: Acadia National Park.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Aroostook National
Wildlife Refuge, Cross Island National Wildlife Refuge,
Franklin Island National Wildlife Refuge, Moosehorn National
Wildlife Refuge, Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge, Pond
Island National Wildlife Refuge, Rachel Carson National
Wildlife Refuge, Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge.
MARYLAND
National Seashores: Assateague Island National Seashore.
MASSACHUSETTS
National Seashores: Cape Cod National Seashore.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Mashpee National
Wildlife Refuge, Massaspit National Wildlife Refuge, Monormoy
National Wildlife Refuge, Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge,
Normans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge, Parker River
National Wildlife Refuge, Thacher Island National Wildlife
Refuge.
MICHIGAN
National Parks: Isle Royale National Park.
National Lakeshores: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
MINNESOTA
National Parks: Voyageurs National Park.
MISSISSIPPI
National Seashores: Gulf Islands National Seashore.
National Military Parks: Vicksburg.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Grand Bay National
Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife
Refuge
MONTANA
National Parks: Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National
Park.
World Heritage Sites: Yellowstone National Park.
NEVADA
National Parks: Death Valley National Park, Great Basin
National Park.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Great Bay National
Wildlife Refuge.
NEW JERSEY
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Cape May National
Wildlife Refuge, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
NEW MEXICO
National Parks: Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Chaco Culture National Historical
Park, Pueblo de Taos, Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
NEW YORK
World Heritage Sites: Statue of Liberty.
National Seashores: Fire Island National Seashore.
[[Page S6303]]
NORTH CAROLINA
National Parks: Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
National Seashores: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape
Lookout National Seashore.
National Military Parks: Guilford Courthouse
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Alligator River National
Wildlife Refuge, Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge,
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, Mackay Island National
Wildlife Refuge, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Pea
Island National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National
Wildlife Refuge, Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge.
NORTH DAKOTA
National Parks: Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
OHIO
National Parks: Cuyahoga Valley National Parks.
OREGON
National Parks: Crater Lake National Park.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Bandon Marsh National
Wildlife Refuge, Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge,
Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon Islands
National Wildlife Refuge, Siletz Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge.
PENNSYLVANIA
World Heritage Sites: Independence Hall.
National Military Parks: Gettysburg.
RHODE ISLAND
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Block Island National
Wildlife Refuge, John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge,
Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, Sachuest Point National
Wildlife Refuge, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge.
SOUTH CAROLINA
National Parks: Congaree National Park.
National Military Parks: Kings Mountain.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: ACE Basin National
Wildlife Refuge, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge,
Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge, Savannah National
Wildlife Refuge, Tybee National Wildlife Refuge, Waccamaw
National Wildlife Refuge.
SOUTH DAKOTA
National Parks: Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National
Park.
TENNESSEE
National Parks: Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
National Military Parks: Chickamauga and Chattanooga,
Shiloh.
TEXAS
National Parks: Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains
National Park.
National Seashores: Padre Island National Seashore.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Anahuac National
Wildlife Refuge, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Big Boggy
National Wildlife Refuge, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge,
Laguna Atascossa National Wildlife Refuge, McFaddin National
Wildlife Refuge, San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Point National Wildlife Refuge, Trinity River National
Wildlife Refuge
UTAH
National Parks: Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National
Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
Zion National Park.
VIRGINIA
National Parks: Shenandoah National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Monticello, University of Virginia
Historic District
National Seashores: Assateague Island National Seashore.
National Military Parks: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
Courthouse Battlefields.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Back Bay National
Wildlife Refuge, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge,
Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge,
Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge, Fisherman Island
National Wildlife Refuge, James River National Wildlife
Refuge, Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Nansemond
National Wildlife Refuge, Occoquah Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge, Wallops
Island National Wildlife Refuge
WASHINGTON
National Parks: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades
National Park, Olympic National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Olympic National Park.
Coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Copalis National
Wildlife Refuge, Flattery National Wildlife Refuge, Grays
Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, Quillayute Needles National
Wildlife Refuge, Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.
WISCONSIN
National Lakeshores: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
WYOMING
National Parks: Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone
National Park.
World Heritage Sites: Yellowstone National Park.
____
[From the Chattanooga Times Free Press, May 22, 2005]
Beware of Windmills
It was reported in the classical fictional literature of
Miguel de Cervantes, and in the delightful derivative musical
play ``Man of La Mancha,'' that Don Quixote tilted at
windmills, thinking them to be adversaries.
But in the real-life United States today, some people are
promoting the erection of many thousands of windmills as a
means of generating electric power, with too few people being
aware that these modern windmills would be very real, not
imaginary, adversaries.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has introduced a bill in
Congress designed to avoid having an army of huge windmills
slip up on us without sufficient warning.
The senator says an effort is being made to require
electric companies to produce 10 percent of their power from
``renewable'' sources. That means wind, hydro, solar,
geothermal and biomass power. Sounds good on the surface,
doesn't it? The trouble is that there are few opportunities
for substantial power generation by these means except by
wind. What would that mean?
``The idea of windmills,'' said Sen. Alexander, conjures up
pleasant images--of Holland and tulips, of rural America . .
. My grandparents had such a windmill at their well pump . .
. But the windmills we are talking about today are not your
grandmother's windmills.
``Each one is typically 100 yards tall, two stories taller
than the Statue of Liberty, taller than a football field is
long.
``These windmills are wider than a 747 jumbo jet.
``Their rotor blades turn at 100 miles per hour.
``These towers and their flashing red lights can be seen
from more than 25 miles away.
``Their noise can be heard from up to a half-mile away. It
is a thumping and swishing sound. It has been described by
residents that are unhappy with the noise as sounding like a
brick wrapped in a towel tumbling in a clothes drier on a
perpetual basis.
``These windmills produce very little power since they only
operate when the wind blows enough or doesn't blow too much,
so they are usually placed in large wind farms covering huge
amounts of land.
``As an example, if the Congress ordered electric companies
to build 10 percent of their power from renewable energy--
which as we have said, has to be mostly wind--and if we renew
the current subsidy each year, by the year 2025, my state of
Tennessee would have at least 1,700 windmills, which would
cover land almost equal to two times the size of the city of
Knoxville.''
Do these revelations by Sen. Alexander, accompanied by the
prospect that $3.7 billion of your taxes might be required
for subsidies over five years, cause you to want to have
100,000 of these huge, red lighted, noisy, thumping windmills
erected throughout the United States, with 1,700 of them in
Tennessee--perhaps in your neighborhood?
Talk about ``pollution'' of area, sound and sight!
Surely, non-polluting nuclear power and other energy
sources would be better. The windmill subsidies could be used
better to promote cleaner, more efficient and cheaper coal,
gas and oil technology.
Sen. Alexander said the purpose of his legislation, in
which Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has joined, is to be sure that
``local authorities have a chance to consider the impact of
such massive new structures before dozens or hundreds of them
begin to be built in their communities.''
For that fair warning, we should give thanks. If you have
seen windmill farms in California, Texas or Hawaii, you will
surely understand why the warning is appropriate.
Don Quixote thought he had problems with windmills, He
hadn't seen the kind Sen. Alexander is talking about.
____
[KnoxNews, June 9, 2005]
Windmills Need Commonsense Approach
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has unleashed a storm of
controversy among environmentalists over windmills, but we
think he is using a commonsense approach.
Alexander has introduced legislation that would restrict
tax credits for new windmills, and he has asked TVA to place
a moratorium on new windmills.
Alexander's bill would give local governments veto power
over wind farm projects and require environmental impact
statements for windmill construction in offshore areas and
within 20 miles of certain scenic areas, such as the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, and military bases.
The provision on eliminating tax credits for projects in
those restricted areas, however, is what has drawn criticism
from environmentalists and windmill manufacturers.
Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
said the legislation is ``the most direct assault on wind
power we've ever seen by a United States senator.''
Jaime Steve, a lobbyist for the American Wind Energy
Association, said wind energy could bring up to 4,500 new
jobs and $4.2 billion in investment to the state in the next
five or six years.
Alexander released a statement that said his bill would
protect scenic areas and give local citizens more control.
``It keeps those 100-yard-tall, monstrous structures away
from Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain,
[[Page S6304]]
Roan Mountain, the Tennessee River Gorge, the foothills of
the Smokies and other highly scenic areas,'' Alexander said.
``As for jobs,'' he continued, ``every Tennessee job is
important, but I fear that hundreds of these giant windmills
across Tennessee's ridges could destroy our tourism industry,
which could cost us tens of thousands of jobs.''
In remarks on the Senate floor, Alexander said serious
questions have been raised about how much relying on wind
power will raise the cost of electricity. ``My studies
suggest that, at a time when America needs large amounts of
low-cost, reliable power, wind produces puny amounts of high-
cost unreliable power,'' he said. ``We need lower prices;
wind power raises prices.''
About his request to TVA, Alexander said the moratorium
should be in effect ``until the new TVA board, Congress and
local officials can evaluate the impact on these massive
structures on our electric rates, our view of the mountains
and our tourism industry.''
TVA Directors Bill Baxter and Skila Harris responded that
TVA has no plans to build more wind turbines in the next two
years and beyond.
We believe Alexander has raised some serious questions
about the effectiveness and efficiency of wind power. While
we understand the importance of focusing on new forms of
energy to reduce reliance on oil, we agree with Alexander's
premise that we must go about it wisely.
``I hope we decide that we need a real national energy
policy instead of a national windmill policy,'' Alexander
said.
We think that's well said.
______