The Planning Office is drafting an ordinance to require companies developing wind farms to mitigate impact from 400-foot-tall wind turbines. County cell tower and large-scale regulations don't cover wind turbines, Pope said.
"Obviously this is a different type of development than a cell tower and will have different impacts, but it is different than the typical commercial development," she said.
Pope said the ordinance is preliminary. She plans to talk to County Judge-elect Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, before presenting the ordinance to the environmental committee by the end of the year.
Bisbee said Friday he had not yet reviewed the draft ordinance and had no comment. County Judge Gary Black was out of the office Friday, according to his secretary.
Pope said it's up to the Quorum Court to decide whether the ordinance is needed.
Pope decided to look into regulating wind farms after TradeWind Energy sought to erect a meteorological test tower to study wind speed and temperature in northwestern Benton County. The tower is now built, she said.
TradeWind will ask the Planning Board to approve a second test tower in about 30 days, said Aaron Weigel, development manager.
TradeWind plans to create a wind farm with about 100 turbines, creating enough electricity to power about 40,000 homes. More than 300 property owners have verbally agreed to lease thousands of acres of property in Benton County and Oklahoma, Weigel said.
The Planning Office has no other proposals for turbines or test towers currently.
The proposed ordinance will address turbines' shadows and how shadow movements affect neighbors' quality of life. Other issues include creating buffers, controlling noise and protecting areas around historic sites.
Pope suggested a noise analysis may be needed to make sure a wind farm doesn't create neighborhood conflicts. Pope said turbines may scramble electronic signals, such as TVs, but Weigel said no studies prove turbines interfere with electronic signals.
Reviewing regulations for wind farms is a good idea, said Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore, R-southwestern Benton County. Turbines may become a visual nuisance to residents, just like cell towers have, Moore said.
"This isn't something (Pope) has just dreamed up," Moore said.
Cost-related regulations can be a drawback, but Pope's concerns are common, Weigel said. He said he is not worried about the proposed regulations but is interested in providing information to the committee.
An ordinance won't stop companies from building, Pope said.
"If a company feels there is potential to harness sites in Benton County, they almost expect regulations," Pope said.
Weigel said his company already plans to mitigate impact from its wind farm.
The nation is pushing for alternative energy and now doesn't seem to be the time to slow development, said Justice of the Peace Chris Glass, R-northeastern Benton County. If turbines are a true nuisance, neighbors can sue, he said.
Justice of the Peace Craig Brown, R-Rogers, agreed.
"Why make it harder on companies to build?" Brown said. "We have too much regulation as it is."
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