Alexander Warns of Putting Renewable Energy Projects
on Landscapes "We've Spent Billions Trying to Protect"
Mar 10, 2010 -- Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today expressed concern over the
siting of renewable energy projects during a hearing of the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies, of which he is the Ranking Member.
"We've spent more than a century and billions of dollars of public and
private money protecting certain landscapes and scenic areas," Alexander
told Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "For example, the
Appalachian Trail runs 2,178 miles from Georgia to Maine and if we were
to run a row of 50-story wind turbines right along the trail, it would
only equal the power produced by four nuclear reactors--and we'd still
need the reactors for when the wind doesn't blow. So I hope you are
considering finding ways to protect the Appalachian Trail from these
large, 50-story wind turbines, and leaving the production of carbon-free
electricity to other forms of electricity that might not interfere with
that viewscape."
In October, Alexander warned of the "perils of energy sprawl" in a
speech to a forum of 200 conservationists. "The unintended
consequences," he said during that speech, "of using renewable energy to
mitigate climate change could damage the environment in the name of
saving the environment."
News Provided By
|