Published: September 28, 2009 08:17 pm      

NC Senate head won't fight coastal wind farms

BUXTON, N.C. — The leader of the state Senate said Friday that he won't fight wind farms proposed offshore from an area he represents, although he's aware that residents are concerned about the possible effects on tourism.

"Change does not come easy to me or to the people of this island," Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, told a public meeting on Hatteras Island.

WRAL-TV reported on its Web site that Basnight said he wouldn't want turbines to disturb the coastal views and potentially affect tourism, but said alternative energy sources must be considered to thwart global warming.

His remarks echoed those of U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a conference call earlier this month.

"One also has to take a little bit longer view of what's going to be happening. If you look at how much land there is in North Carolina below, let's say, one and a half meters — which includes a lot of your tourist areas — those will be under water or have a probability of being under water," Chu said. "The change in weather patterns and all these other things are real issues."

He acknowledged that not everyone is a fan of windmills. "I think you can do a lot to mitigate those impacts," he said.

The public meeting in Buxton was packed, with islanders making up about half the crowd.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that if all the usable waters are fully developed, offshore wind farms could supply 130 percent of all the power used by North Carolina in 2007. The industry could also create as many as 9,000 local jobs by 2030.

"This is among the best wind resources on the East Coast," said Dr. Harvey Seim, a marine-sciences professor at UNC.

Seim said that the first demonstration site could be in the Pamlico Sound, about 10 miles west of Avon and northwest of Buxton.

Wind gene