Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Renewable Energy Wind topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee rejects moratorium bill that would pause new wind construction pending study
Summary
A sponsor sought a temporary moratorium and study on new wind projects to evaluate impacts on waterfowl and raptors; a trade group testified against broad moratorium effects and the committee’s motion to pass the bill failed on roll call.
A proposed moratorium that would pause construction of new wind turbines while a study is completed failed to pass the Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee.
The sponsor (Senator identified as the bill sponsor on the record) described the bill as a two-year moratorium during which a study would examine impacts to waterfowl and other birds, while exempting projects already "in process." When a committee member asked what "in process" meant, the sponsor said it meant "as soon as they turn dirt. That's the way the bill reads."
Simon Mahan, executive director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, testified in opposition to a broad moratorium while saying his trade association is not opposed to studies: "One of the things in this study I mentioned earlier ... we're not afraid of a study. We think a study could be helpful," Mahan said. He emphasized evidence is limited that turbines kill large numbers of waterfowl and that birds often relocate locally rather than being killed, and cautioned about investment and local economic impacts, describing typical project investments in the hundreds of millions.
After testimony and sponsor remarks urging protection of duck habitat, the committee moved the bill. The motion to pass failed on a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript: several senators voted no and others voted yes; the clerk recorded the roll call sequence before announcing the motion failed.
