Va. officials give green light for state's 1st onshore wind farm

Company simulation shows how North Mountain near Eagle Rock, Va., would look. (Apex Clean Energy)

After a seven-year battle and a court-ordered review, Virginia officials have reaffirmed their approval of what would be the state's first land-based wind farm. Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville "says it intends to start construction once a final site plan and other permits are approved" by Botetourt County officials, reports Laurence Hammack of The Roanoke Times, The Rocky Forge Wind project would have 13 turbines, each 634 feet tall, along a ridgeline of North Mountain near Eagle Rock (other ridges named North Mountain are much farther northeast).

"Apex has not found a buyer for the 75 megawatts of electricity the turbines will produce at peak capacity," Hammack reports. "But unlike in 2017 — when the wind farm had all of its required permits but delayed construction for two years while it searched for a utility or other entity to purchase its power — the company is planning to move ahead this time without a signed contract." Company spokesman Patrick Chilton told Hammack, “Apex is in active discussions with potential commercial partners. We feel very strongly in the market for this project and know that the more ‘real’ Rocky Forge becomes, those conversations will pick up significantly.”

The project was also delayed by a lawsuit from landowners in Botetourt County and adjoining Rockbridge County who "say their property will be devalued by turbines that will mar the scenic landscape, kill birds and bats that fly into their spinning blades, cause other environmental damage and produce low-frequency noise and shadow flicker," Hammack notes. "Apex agreed to turn the turbines off at dusk and restart them at dawn in the warmer months, when bats are most active."

More recently, the American Bird Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have voiced concerns that the farm would threaten golden eagles, but a 2015 Apex study indicated otherwise, and state officials said they could not "force Apex to restudy the risk to eagles under the narrow confines of the amended-permit process," Hammack reports. The judge in the case did order another public-comment period, saying state officials made procedural errors.

UPDATE, 8/4/23: Apex says construction will not start until summer or fall of 2024.