Crossville wind mills suspended by state
CROSSVILLE, Tenn. – A more than $100 million wind farm project in Tennessee has been put on hold after state lawmakers passed a yearlong moratorium on new turbines being installed in the state.
The Crab Orchard wind farm located on the Cumberland Plateau was projected to power 20,000 homes with 23 turbines.
The moratorium was sponsored by Crossville Republican Rep. Cameron Sexton, who has said residents of a nearby retirement community worried about losing value on their homes and that the windmills would be noisy or harm wildlife.
Developer Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, Va., said the project will emit no pollution and create no hazardous waste as it provides a safe energy alternative near wildlife and natural areas. Still, development manager Harry Snyder said, it was time to suspend the project.
“There are several important inflection points at which we determine whether the fundamental attributes of the project support a continuing investment in that project,” Snyder said. “We have come to such an inflection point.”
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said he doesn’t support banning all future wind energy. “In the right places, wind power has proven to be effective,” he said.
Environmental group objects to TVA reactors
An environmental group critical of nuclear power is challenging plans to potentially locate small modular reactors in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League said Tuesday that it is filing a legal challenge to the proposal by the Tennessee Valley Authority to site small modular reactors at the site of the abandoned Clinch River Breeder Reactor in Oak Ridge.
“TVA is trying to justify this project as a solution to global warming and to benefit energy security. What it does is undermine both,” Lou Zeller, executive director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, filed a 13-page petition with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission challenging TVA’s plans.
TVA has not yet decided to build any small modular reactors, but it is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the option and has filed an early site permit with the NRC for Oak Ridge to locate the new reactors, if they are ultimately built.
Chinese auto supplier adds 200 jobs in state
The Chinese automotive supplier Minth Group Ltd., announced Tuesday it will invest $13.2 million and add 200 jobs over the next five years at a manufacturing facility in Lewisburg, Tenn.
Minth makes structural body, trim and decorative parts for cars and trucks and operates 40 plants in 29 different countries.
“Ten years ago, we took a major step towards globalization by establishing our presence in the United States with our manufacturing facility in Michigan,” said Jimmy Chen, chief operating officer for the Minth Group. “Today, I am delighted to see that Minth continues to grow within North America as well as globally.”
Minth will renovate an existing 125,000-square-foot facility for parts production and as a distribution warehouse for Minth facilities abroad.
Verizon completes Yahoo takeover
Verizon has taken over Yahoo, completing a $4.5 billion deal that will usher in a new management team to attempt to wring more advertising revenue from one of the internet’s best-known brands.
Tuesday’s closure of the sale ends Yahoo’s 21-year history as a publicly traded company. It also ends the nearly five-year reign of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who isn’t joining Verizon.