Mountain top Industrial wind turbines are WRONG for Virginia

PLEASE do your homework on the facts about mountain top industrial wind. Green energy is NOT green if it is not done right.

21 FACTS why mountain top industrial wind is WRONG for Virginia:

1. Virginia's scenic mountain ridges are NOT renewable.
2. Manufacturing of wind turbines is a non-green resource consuming industry.
3. Mining of rare earth magnets used in turbine operation is a dirty environmentally destructive industry.  Please go to: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/wind/big-winds-dirty-little-secret-rare-  earth-minerals/
4. Wind energy is intermittent and it does NOT reduce carbon emissions.
5. Wind energy requires fossil fuel industries to cover long periods when no wind blows and no substantial or  dependable energy is ever produced.
6. Winds are lowest in the summer when VA energy demands peak in July and August.
7. Unreliable and Intermittent wind of the Appalachian Mountains requires the tallest turbines and longest blades to capture the wind contributing even more to scenic viewshed destruction and bird and bat kill.
8. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation VA Outdoor Plan calls to protect viewsheds of the Blue Ridge Parkway ant the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Mountain top industrial wind violates the VA Outdoor Plan and destroys scenic beauty and tourism dollars.
9. The American Bird Conservancy warns that bird and bat collision deaths are at a number far greater than the wind industry claims. American Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles are documented to use the Appalachian Mountain ridges for vital spring and fall migration routes. Siting turbines on migration ridge lines are a
direct threat to protected Eastern Golden Eagles, a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Concern by the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as the American Bald Eagle.  Kill and take permits can NOT be justified. Please go to: https://abcbirds.org/wind-energy-threatens-birds/
10. Numerous bat species including Indiana Bat, Gray Bat, Tri-Color bat and Northern Long Ear bat are killed by industrial turbines. NO mitigation plan to curtail turbines during certain times of the year is satisfactory.
11. Illogical and poorly sited mountain top turbines are a gross waste of tax payers dollars driven by a lucrative wind industry pocketing enormous sums of tax credits dollars.
12. Ridge top blasting and heavy equipment road construction in fragile mountainous areas alter hydrology of sensitive karst topography and negatively impact water quality for entire watersheds.
13. Forested acreage is clear cut for mountain top turbine construction which contributes to global warming instead of helping prevent global warming.
14. Home values decline due to noise, viewshed, shadow flicker and overall negative impact on property value.
15. Quality of life, family and community well being are negatively impacted by noise, shadow flicker, visual impact, infrasound, stress and health concerns.
16. Intact wildlife corridors between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains are recognized as hotspots of biodiversity by the Nature Conservancy and must not be fragmented and destroyed by industrial turbines.
17. Job numbers generated by the wind industry are NOT accurate and not based in fact. Jobs created during construction are short term only. Operating wind systems employ a very small number. The proposed Rocky Forge Wind in Botetourt County would employ 7 or less people in full time positions.
18. Numerous wind companies including Apex Clean Energy do not have a reputable track record. Many nationwide counties have been forced into litigation to protect their way of life from the negative impact of wind energy companies seeking financial gain at far too great a cost to the environment and the hard working public.
19. The Permit by Rule process to fast tract wind and solar projects smaller than 100 MW is deeply flawed and permitting must return to the SCC and normal regulatory processes.
20. Industrial turbine sites impact a grossly larger area often far greater than the county they are located in. Neighboring jurisdictions must have a role in the permitting process since they are can be equally and sometimes more negatively impacted.
21. The Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment tool used in the Permit by Rule application process scores and assigns over 50 attributes providing information about rare species and habitats, environmental diversity, species diversity, patch characteristics and water quality. No industrial turbine proposed location
should ever be sited in an area with a high Ecological Integrity Score. The area of Proposed Rocky Forge wind in Botetourt County has an Ecological Integrity Score of "C-1 - OUTSTANDING".

The proposed Rocky Forge Industrial Wind turbine project by Apex "Clean" Energy is an example of everything WRONG about industrial wind energy for Virginia's scenic mountains. PLEASE do your homework.