The Roanoke Group actively supports utility scale wind and solar energy. Distributed energy is an important part, but not the full solution.

WIND

Wind is the greatest source of renewable energy in the United States. As of early 2025, there are about 74,000 onshore turbines in the U.S. and that number grows as you read this. Virginia is one of nine states with no utility-scale on-shore wind. All neighboring states except Kentucky have wind farms. West Virginia has seven.
 
The opposition’s biggest concerns seem to be viewsheds and bird/bat mortality. There are other concerns, but these stand out.Some people fear we’ll have turbines all along our mountain tops, but that cannot happen. Within 350 miles of Virginia’s mountain ranges, there are only seven suitable sites.
 
The land must be privately owned by someone willing to lease. A transmission line must run through, or adjacent to the site. Generally, in our mountains, the greater the altitude, the higher the wind speed, so an altitude of at least 3,000 ft. is considered necessary.
Proximity of highways and roads that can handle huge equipment is a significant concern.
 
Bird and bat mortality is very real concern, with bats usually at greater risk. In late 2016, the Audubon Society declared support for wind power, when properly sited knowing rapid climate change will eliminate not just birds, but all higher life. The Important Bird Area Program is very helpful. IBA is a global program developed by Birdlife International and administered in the U.S. by Audubon. Especially sensitive areas are identified on maps available online indicating where not to build a wind farm.

To protect bats, Rocky Forge Wind, Virginia’s first on-shore wind farm now under construction, will turn off their turbines from dusk to dawn, between mid-March and mid-November, except when wind speed is above 15 mph, or the temperature is below 38 degrees.

SOLAR

There are three types of solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV), the familiar solar panels, turns sunlight into electricity. 

Concentrated solar involves thousands of mirrors that focus sunlight on a central tower. Molten salt is usually  used to transfer the extreme heat to turbines producing electricity. 

Passive solar involves simple technology to harvest, or manage the sun’s heat through building designs and a variety of installations such as dark pipe water heaters.

The International Energy Agency tells us PV solar is the “cheapest electricity in history”. 

According to Aaron Berryhill, solar program manager at Virginia Energy, at the end of 2015, Virginia had no active utility-scale solar and about 3,000 distributed installations. By the end of 2021, there were 51 active utility-scale solar facilities of 5 MW or more with a total capacity of 2,657 MW. There were 26,000 distributed solar installations with a total capacity of 248 MW. As of February, 2025, there were 115 solar farms in Virginia with an operating capacity of 4,153 megawatts (MW).

Managing our individual carbon footprint is important, but to speed up the transition to renewable energy, we need utility-scale renewables, as confirmed by the above data.

Solar electricity generated by Virginia’s solar projects more than doubled from 2020 to 2021. 

This impressive growth in utility-scale solar is encouraging, though it is virtually all east of us. In our region, there is significant opposition, resulting in the denial of numerous permits. Our active support is needed. 

ROCKY FORGE WIND UPDATE - February, 2025

As 2024 ended, Apex Clean Energy had survived all legal challenges and satisfied Botetourt County with their site plan. In December, Google agreed to purchase the power, now rated at 79 MW, opening the door to construction. In early February of 2025, work began. Before turbines, the site must be prepared, including a lay-down yard, which involves acres of land where equipment can be collected, stored and parked for convenient access. Building a temporary cement plant on site will provide convenience and eliminate the hundreds of truck delivery miles. The road to, and along the ridge line that could handle huge equipment is a significant challenge. Though on private property, it must satisfy environmental regulations. This work will consume 2025, leaving the exciting part, turbines, to be installed in 2026.

Rocky Forge will create up to 250 jobs during construction and should deliver about $350 million in state and local tax revenue over its lifetime. Though economic issues are also very compelling, the Sierra Club celebrates furthering the transition to renewable energy. With the growing national, and global embrace of clean power, Rocky Forge will  be a feather in the cap of Botetourt County and the area, something to brag about, Virginia’s first onshore wind farm.

ROCKY FORGE WIND

Virginia is one of nine states with no on-shore wind farms. All neighboring states except Kentucky have them. West Virginia has seven, one visible from Virginia, with number eight “in the oven”. Obviously, there is lots of wind power in our mountains.

In 2015, Rocky Forge Wind, a project of Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, Virginia, began the public engagement and permit process. 

The site is about 4.5 miles north of Eagle Rock on North Mountain, very remote and highly suited for a wind farm. The plan is for 13 turbines with a maximum height of 643 ft. and a capacity of 75 MW. 

Since 2015, plans have been made and permits granted. Legal challenges and advances in turbine technology with the passing of time have consumed time and led to amendments in plans and permits. A buyer for the power has been challenging. 

Apex and DEQ have faced lawsuits... turbines will mar the scenic landscape, kill birds and bats, cause other environmental damage, and produce low-frequency noise and shadow flicker.

As of August, 2023, about a dozen Botetourt County and Rockbridge County residents have three cases pending. They are asking the Virginia Court of Appeals to reverse a decision by a Botetourt County judge upholding DEQ’s second approval of the wind farm. In the county’s circuit court, they are seeking to overturn two decisions from the Botetourt County Board of Zoning Appeals: a finding that Apex was entitled to an extension of a site plan deadline because of the pandemic, and approval for a temporary concrete-making facility near the construction site.

Apex hopes to begin major construction next summer or fall, and complete the project by the end of 2025.

More Information and to Share Your Comments with Apex

We recommend you go to: www.rockyforgewind.com for more details and updates. 

Apex welcomes engagement with the public and can be reached at: info@rockyforgewind.com, or Apex Clean Energy, 120 Garrett St. Suite 700, Charlottesville, Va. 22902