The Kitty Hawk town council has adopted a resolution to keep any proposed offshore wind energy turbines out of sight. Council members forwarded the resolution to federal regulators as a plea to protect the natural beauty of the Outer Banks.
The U.S. Department of Interior has been asking for proposals for offshore wind farms as close as six miles off Kitty Hawk. Council members want to push that to at least 20 miles away. Gary Perry is Mayor Pro Tem of Kitty Hawk.
"Sometimes we hear of noise effects and things of that nature will affect perhaps our tourist economy..and that's basically the whole of Dare County," Perry said. "So those are the considerations for saying alright..try to keep these offshore enough that they don't impact what we use as a business."
Perry says additional costs would be in the length of transmission lines to the shore. Other coastal communities are supporting the effort to put wind farms further out to sea, but Kitty Hawk's is the only written resolution so far.
