May 20--Environmental groups and representatives of Tennessee's fledgling wind power industry on Thursday savaged U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander for introducing legislation that would restrict tax credits for new windmills.

Alexander's bill would give local governments veto power over wind farm projects and require environmental impact statements for windmill construction in offshore areas and within 20 miles of certain scenic areas and military bases.

But it's the provision that would eliminate tax credits for projects in those restricted areas that has drawn the ire of environmentalists and windmill manufacturers.

Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy called Alexander's legislation "the most direct assault on wind power we've ever seen by a United States senator."

Smith said wind power should be a part of an energy mix that includes other clean, renewable power sources. He said his organization would like to see the tax credits extended for another five years to give the industry a boost.

Jaime Steve, a lobbyist for the American Wind Energy Association, said wind energy could bring $4.2 billion in investment and up to 4,500 new jobs in Tennessee during the next five or six years.

Steve said tax credits would help generate 2,500 megawatts of wind-powered electricity by the end of the year. Without the credits, he said, the industry would only add about 400 megawatts.

"That's a huge difference," said Richard Ector, president and CEO of Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group. In addition to working on TVA's Buffalo Mountain wind farm in Anderson County, Ector's company has built windmills throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.

Marlin Laidlaw, president of Aerisyn LLC, a Chattanooga-based windmill manufacturer, said tax credits would allow him to double the business he founded only a year ago.

Aerisyn has more than $7 million invested in equipment and would like to add another $3 million to $4 million worth soon. The company employs 50 people and could expand to 400 with increased business, Laidlaw said. Without tax credits, Laidlaw said, he likely would cap employment at 75.

"I was baffled," Laidlaw said about Alexander's proposal.

In a statement, Alexander said the bill would protect scenic areas and give local citizens more control.

"It keeps these 100-yard-tall, monstrous structures away from Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Roan Mountain, the Tennessee River Gorge, the foothills of the Smokies and other highly scenic areas," Alexander said.

"As for jobs," he continued, "every Tennessee job is important, but I fear that hundreds of these giant windmills across Tennessee's ridges could destroy our tourism industry, which could cost us tens of thousands of jobs."

In remarks on the Senate floor on Friday, Alexander said that windmills are large, unsightly, noisy contraptions that bother nearby residents. He also criticized a proposal to require power companies to increase their use of renewable energy sources to 10 percent by 2025, saying it's essentially a mandate to build more windmills.

Alexander said the $3.7 billion earmarked for windmill tax credits would be better spent on hybrid vehicle subsidies or loan guarantees for coal gasification and nuclear plants.

"I hope we decide that we need a real national energy policy," Alexander said, "instead of a national windmill policy."

Alexander's bill would restrict windmill farms near 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Smith said Alexander's concerns about wind farms springing up outside the Smokies are unfounded. The wind power industry has blocked out the Smokies and adjacent areas in searching for acceptable wind farm locations, he said.

While there are places in East Tennessee that get enough sustained wind for windmills to generate electricity, advocates say the area will never see as much wind farm development as the Great Plains, the Midwest and California.

"The entire Southeast region of the U.S. is not a very good region for wind energy development," Steve said.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has no plans right now to build more wind farms or add turbines to its Buffalo Mountain site, TVA spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said. About 1 percent of TVA's power comes from windmills.

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