The Brady Township Supervisors held a workshop conference call in relation to developing a wind turbine ordinance. The conversation was with Thomas Tuffey, the director of PennFuture's Center for Energy, Enterprise and the Environment covered many areas of interest for the supervisors, who are currently writing an ordinance that will place regulations on the wind turbines currently being proposed by Iberdrola, U.S.A. in the township.
Supervisors Chairman Les Wachob started the conversation by asking what standards currently exist that the board might incorporate into its ordinance.
Tuffey said there is a model ordinance that he helped develop. He added that some 30 people, including officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as experts on the environment and others were part of the group. He said the ordinance was written to help municipalities write their own laws regarding limits on wind turbine construction and operation. It does not include items that involve wildlife, since those issues already exist in law.
Wachob asked about the issue that has been brought up in local meetings, the setbacks or distances from residents' homes.
Tuffey said setbacks are addressed in the model ordinance. It suggests that a distance of 1.1 times the height of the tower be established from buildings on properties that have leases to build a wind turbine. It also suggests a distance of five times the height of the tower from occupied buildings on nonparticipating landowners (landowners who do not have a lease) occupied buildings.
The towers that have been proposed in Brady Township will be 265 feet in height, meaning that a setback of 1,325 feet would be required. Prior to the meeting, the supervisors had been looking at existing ordinances that established setbacks from roughly 500 to 1,250 feet.
Tuffey said the restrictions in the model ordinance are generally accepted in the United States and that common sense and knowing the local terrain should be part of writing a local law.
In regard to noise levels, Tuffey said a level of 55 decibels measured at about 1,000 feet from the turbine has proven to be successful. He added that concerns about the shadow of the rotating blades have been addressed by better engineering and the placement of turbines relative to the sun and occupied buildings.
When Wachob asked if the study group or Tuffey had spoken with people in the area where wind turbines have been built, he said he had talked with a large number of residents. A large majority of people he spoke with have positive feelings and comments about the turbines, although he acknowledged that there are always some people who are dissatisfied.
As with any new development, he said there is usually some apprehension before the turbines are built but in those areas where wind farms have been built, once they are up and in operation the fear disappears.
He said the engineering and design of wind turbines has changed dramatically in the past few years and that the current generation of both turbines and propellors are much quieter than previous models. Since they are industrial machines, they need maintenance to run smoothly and quietly. While early turbines spun at a speed of 70-80 rpm, current models generate more electricity while moving 17-18 rpm.
Since wind and maintenance are the only costs of operation, he said once a windmill has been built, operators cannot afford to use older machines. Since the biggest demand for electricity is up and down the eastern part of America, that is where the power needs to be generated. He said he would not be surprised to see large turbines many miles from shore, but that to the best of his knowledge, 2.5 to 3 MW turbines will be the largest that can be built in the mountains.
He also said that things like aking a wind turbine off line re covered in the model ordinance. It would require the owner or operator to remove it and restore the land if a turbine is not used for a period of 12 months. The land would have to be restored to a depth of 36 inches where the foundation, cables or any related components (including roads) have been built. A certified professional engineer should determine the cost of that decommissioning and an amount sufficient to cover those costs should be deposited in an escrow account.
Following this conversation, the supervisors indicated that they will be writing an ordinance in the near future and will take the facts they have into consideration when they write it.