By Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Botetourt Planning Commission met on Monday remotely. A public hearing regarding amendments to the zoning ordinance and a change of conditions to a previously approved Special Exception Permit to construct a utility-scale wind energy system were voted on.
The commissioners voted to send both matters to the Board of Supervisors. Public hearings on the matters will be held on May 26 at 6 p.m.
The ordinance text amendments included changing the maximum turbine height from 550 feet to 680 feet, a maximum height of 100 feet for equipment and structures for substations and facilities for points of interconnection, and the deletion of the five-year time limit that a Special Exception Permit for wind energy systems would expire if the system did not become operational.
The change of conditions to the previously approved Special Exception Permit included the reduction of the maximum number of permitted turbines from 25 to 22 and the modification of the existing conditions related to constructing turbines at a taller height to be no greater than 680 feet.
Advancements in technology were cited as the reasons for the requested changes.
The project is proposed to be located along three and a half miles of the southernmost portion of North Mountain with an entrance located on the north side of Dagger Spring Road.
The project was originally approved in 2016. The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors voted last December for the Planning Commission to review the proposal.
Rocky Forge Wind, LLC is a subsidiary of Apex Clean Energy, Inc.
“This project means a lot to our company,” Apex’s Charlie Johnson said.
