Existing Tools
greatest potential for energy generation. The law does not prescribe any
regulations relative to the permitting of off‐shore wind energy development.
The only item the law addresses is that the shadow flicker study is not
required for off‐shore wind energy development projects.
North Carolina House Bill 484
House Bill 484 Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities was enacted by the
General Assembly in 2013. This law contains a number of undefined terms or
definitions missing important elements. The first definition that defines the
major military installation excludes the entire National Guard for the State of
North Carolina. While National Guard installations typically provide rotary
wing training capabilities and typically perform them in a designated slow
route (SR) that are not captured in the typical military training routes (MTRs);
these facilities and their associated aviation operations are still likely to be
impacted by utility‐scale wind energy development projects. Excluding the
North Carolina National Guard facilities is an oversight in this law. Also, this
definition includes any facility that is under the control of the installations
within the state. National Guard facilities and units are not typically under an
active military installation’s control; rather the National Guard and its
facilities are under the control of an Adjutant General or a designated military
department within state agencies.
In addition, the law does not prescribe the need to have the noise associated
with the turning blades of the turbine studied. The law also does not
establish limits on noise decibels created from these development projects.
This type of noise can potentially disrupt property owners, marine animals,
and other stakeholders if not properly mitigated.
Furthermore, the law establishes clear guidance and regulations in the pre‐
application site evaluation part of the process for notifying the appropriate
stakeholders including the military and the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). However for local government permitting of the development project,
the law only stipulates that a written confirmation from the FAA is required.
During this part of the permitting process, there is no requirement from the
DOD Siting Clearinghouse to provide a written confirmation indicating there
is no significant impact to other military operations in the vicinity.
The law does not clearly define the “Department” as the permitting agency,
though the Department is specified elsewhere as the North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Finally, Section 143‐215.122 Monitoring and Reporting, requires that the
applicant submit annual reports relative to the impacts on the military as
required by certain federal agencies such as United States Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS), the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the
North Carolina Utilities Commission, or any other government agency. This
statement is confusing as it is requiring the applicant to submit reports about
impacted military operations that are required by federal agencies whose
mission is to protect natural resources. While the military operations can
have an impact on natural resources and the environment, the military
utilizes natural resource management plans in concert with the USFWS to
facilitate the protection of the environment and natural resources as far as
the military operations may impact them. This section would benefit from
the inclusion of other federal agencies.
There is also no definition for *shadow flicker* in the law. Shadow flicker is
the flickering of shadows produced by the turning of a turbine’s blades. A
clear definition of this phenomenon including angles and shadow flicker
length is absent, which leaves this element unregulated and subject to
possible complaints from citizens. The noise from shadow flicker has the
potential to cause stress and sleep disturbances, along with other adverse
health effects, for those living nearby wind turbines.
The key missed opportunity in the law is that there are no distinct regulations
for off‐shore wind energy development projects. The North Carolina
coastline is a premier location for wind energy development with the
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