Pantego Wind Farm Cleared by the Feds | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Beaufort County is in a unique position where it desperately needs the the Pantego Wind Energy Project to come into fruition, or be damned to tax its citizens exorbitantly.

    Why?

    There is a majority of county commissioners, by the slimmest of majority margins, who are obligating its citizens to pay for a new, expansive jail, and sheriff's office to be built 6 miles south of the county seat in an industrial park, just across Highway 17 from the new, not yet built, welcome center and rest stop. These county commissioners, all Democrats: Jerry Langley, Ed Booth, Robert Belcher, and Republican convert to Dem. Al Klemm, are "Hell-bent" to build, and have Beaufort County taxpayers pay for this Corrections monstrosity "come Hell or high water". The proposed wind farm is a proud piece, coupled with the housing of massive numbers of Federal prisoners, for a fee, of their "build it and they will come" strategy to construct their imposing edifice without raising taxes.

    It is a "fools errand", but an errand nonetheless that is made one step closer to fruition with the Federal military satisfied, and the North Carolina government's restrictions yet accommodate.

    Here below is the Department of Defense press release:

News Release:

    SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C.     The Department of Defense and Invenergy Wind Development LLC reached an agreement to mitigate impacts of the Pantego Wind Energy Project on military training while pursuing renewable energy development.

    "With this agreement, a careful balance was struck to capitalize on the potential of renewable energy in eastern North Carolina, while allowing the 4th Fighter Wing to continue its F-15E, low-level flying mission," said Col. Jeannie Leavitt, 4th FW commander. "All F-15E formal aircrew training is conducted at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and operating areas such as the Dare County Bombing Range are a valuable commodity critical to military readiness. This agreement is paving the way for renewable wind energy development in this region."

    As a result, wind turbines will be placed no closer than four nautical miles from the centerline of a major military flying training route in eastern North Carolina used extensively by Seymour Johnson AFB F-15Es and Navy and Marine Corps aircraft for low-level flight training and access to the Dare County Bombing Range. This will allow the military to continue conducting effective training on the route; the original wind energy project site plan would have affected access to the Dare County Bombing Range and low-level training on a critical portion of training route VR 84. The agreement is a result of collaborative efforts between the DOD and Invenergy to sustain military readiness and develop renewable energy resources. "Military readiness is the Department's priority. However, we also recognize that energy security is a component of national security. To this end, the Pantego agreement finds harmony between military readiness and renewable energy development. This groundbreaking agreement was the result of a lot work by all stakeholders, particularly the outstanding efforts of leadership from Seymour Johnson AFB, the state of North Carolina, and representatives from Beaufort and Wayne counties. This agreement is vital to sustaining the military's ability to conduct its readiness training in this part of North Carolina," said Director, Force Readiness and Training, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness) Frank DiGiovanni.

For more information, call the 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office at (919) 722-0027 or email 4fw.pa@seymourjohnson.af.mil.