[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.
                                 ______