LEGAL 



TIDES 



The Solar Center also installed an 

 anemometer at North River Farm, a restoration 

 site in Carteret County acquired by the N.C. 

 Coastal Federation, according to Mast. 



FUTURE WIND ENERGY? 



When Jim Bacchus peers out the window 

 of his car, he can't help but notice the poor air 

 quality in Charlotte. "We do not do well from a 

 pollution standpoint," he says. 



When in a metropolitan area like the Queen 

 City, Bacchus can't help but think about his 

 house in Topsail Island, a far cry from city life. 

 There, traffic problems are limited to the summer 

 tourist season. 



Not far from his beach house is the 

 anemometer he received from the N.C. Solar 

 Center's loan program. He had it installed at the 

 nearby sewage treatment facility to keep it out 

 of view. 



But the state is several years away from 

 creating large-scale wind facilities, according to 

 Bacchus, managing director ofTerrapin Wind, a 

 company that hopes one day to create what he 

 calls "wind farms" in eastern North Carolina. 



Developers are having difficulty receiving 

 long-term commercial financing right now, he 

 says. 



"The longest financing available is for five 

 years," Bacchus explains. "Nothing is going to 

 happen unless there's many more years put on 

 the contract. It will be a catalyst for wind power if 

 tomorrow someone started serving a seven-to-1 

 year contract." 



The availability of affordable long-term 

 financing is only one aspect to consider 

 regarding wind energy, says Walter Clark, coastal 

 communities and policy specialist with North 

 Carolina Sea Grant. 



Wth tourism as one of North Carolina's 

 biggest industries, perhaps the most critical issue 

 is aesthetics, he adds. 



"People come to our mountains and coast 

 to see the undulating ridges of the Blue Ridge 

 and vast openness of our coastal sounds and the 

 Atlantic," says Clark. 



"If wind turbines threaten to clutter the 

 honzon of our ocean vistas and mountain ridges, 

 there will likely be substantial opposition from 

 those that depend on beautiful views to nourish 



the soul and tourism dollars to line the pocket," 

 he says. 



"On the other hand, if wind turbines are 

 designed and located so as to minimize aesthetic 

 impacts, wind may become a viable alternative 

 energy supplement," Clark explains. 



Bacchus also cites visual appearance as a 

 critical factor. "North Carolina residents want 

 wind farms to be 

 out of sight," says 

 Bacchus. 'You toil 

 your whole life for a 

 beautiful view at the 

 beach." 



Aesthetics 

 have been part of 

 the problem with 

 the proposed Cape 

 Wind project, a 

 much-publicized 

 effort to build a wind 

 farm four miles off 

 the Cape Cod shore 

 in Massachusetts. 

 The developers hope 

 to place 170 wind 

 turbines within a 

 five-mile by five-mile 

 area and supply 

 enough electricity to 

 power half of Cape 

 Cod. 



The Cape 

 Cod project is well 

 received by most 

 of the locals, says 

 Steve Kalland, 

 deputy director of 



TOP: N.C. Solar 

 Center solar energy 

 specialist Shawn 

 Fitzpatrick wires 

 the wind vane on 

 a 20-meter tower. 

 MIDDLE: The NRG 



Symphonie logger, mounted at the base of a 50-meter tower, was installed in Sneads Ferry. BOTTOM: The 

 Coastal Wind Initiative provides data, such as maps identifying wind speeds. TOP RIGHT: Shawn Fitzpatrick 

 (left) and Beth Mast stand in front of an anemometer outside of the McKimmon Center. BOTTOM RIGHT: 

 A 50-meter tower is being raised at Sneads Ferry as part of the anemometer installation process. 



28 SPRING 2005 



