Wind Farm On NC Coast Operational Despite Opposition

North Carolina's coast is now home to a fully operational wind farm. Power generated from the turbines is currently being produced, despite opposition from some Republican leaders.

The $400 million project was once touted as being a national security threat. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger were among ten state legislators making the claim. They asked the Donald Trump administration to shutter the wind farm due to its proximity to a Naval radar installation. The surveillance radar is in Chesapeake, Va., where it scans hundreds of miles into the Atlantic and Caribbean for ships and planes.

But the Pentagon says the two can operate with zero conflict. Avangrid Renewables made changes to the original construction plans to assure no interference with the radar. For this installation, the company constructed 104 wind turbines that now generate enough electricity for 60,000 homes.

North Carolina lawmakers suggested that the Pentagon okayed the wind farm due to the “political correctness” of the Obama administration.

There has been no publicly known response from the Trump administration on the North Carolina issue.

But according to the Associated Press, President Trump has expressed opposition to wind turbines in the past, tweeting about them more than 60 times over the years.  At a campaign rally in August, he criticized both solar panels and wind turbines, which he said pose a lethal threat to wildlife. In addition, the Associated Press reports Trump has battled the construction of an offshore wind project he says ruined the view from his golf resort in Scotland.

Correction: This story's headline and photo have been changed, as they suggested the wind farm is off shore, when the turbines are in fact are on farmland.