Issues around small wind turbines put on the table

ESTES PARK, Colo. - Area residents got to air out their opinions on small wind turbines during a public forum last week. About 50 people attended the April 30 forum to ask questions and voice their opinions regarding small wind generators. Several homeowners in the community have installed or are thinking about installing, small wind turbines to generate electricity at their residences.

Community Development Director Bob Joseph presented a slide show of small wind turbines that are being installed in Europe. More than 10 styles were shown, horizontal and vertical. Joseph touched on net metering and rebate programs offered by the Estes Park Light and Power (EPL&P) department. A net meter measures renewable energy used by customers. If the customer generates energy in excess of their household needs, that renewable energy is returned to the grid and customers later receive compensation for that overage from the local utility.

Joseph also noted the renewable energy credit program EPL&P offers, where customers can purchase energy supplied by the Medicine Bow wind farm in Wyoming.

Joseph called the meeting on Thursday to start the discussion about the following regulatory issues regarding horizontal wind generators: height of towers; ridgeline protection and visual impacts; setbacks and zoning districts; highway corridors; noise; flicker, which is caused from sunlight passing through moving blades; energy audits; and inoperative units and disrepair.

Horizontal-access systems have three blades and are mounted on either a monopole (similar to a cell-tower pole) or a lattice tower with guy wires. Vertical access systems rotate around a center much like a barbershop pole. Vertical access turbines are typically mounted at lower heights on a monopole and can be mounted on roofs.

Regulations for horizontal wind turbines were the focus of the meeting. Several problems have been associated with the units, in regard to strong winds in the Estes Valley, possible danger to wildlife, noise and visual impacts.

"There is a true dilemma that I think is hard to avoid," said Joseph. "That's performance versus visual impact. Wind speeds increase with the height of the ground. The greater the unevenness of the ground, the greater the turbulence - the harder it is to site these things so they can capture a smooth, effective flow of wind. Turbulence can also lead to noise, high maintenance costs and shorter operational lifespan.

"The rule of thumb, at least at this point in the industry, is that wind turbines should be well off the ground, they should be well above anything in the vicinity. The typical advice found in the literature is saying 20 to 30 feet above the tallest obstruction within 300 feet."

Joseph noted that turbines for home use should be approximately 30 to 80 feet to avoid turbulence in the Estes Valley. This produces a problem since the regulation for these units state that they can be no higher than 30 feet.

"If somebody comes forward with a request for something taller than 30 feet, that currently is going to go to the board of adjustment," said Joseph. "We recently had such a request... that's our current regulatory option until we think of something better."

Joseph spoke of the financial recovery of large wind farms versus personal wind generators.

"On the other hand, small-scale wind turbines, unless they are placed in a very optimum position at an optimum height, they may never recoup their embedded carbon investment," he said.

Joseph then opened the meeting to the public.

A local retailer, Chris Stough of EcoTech Energy Solutions, was the first to address the crowd. He introduced the new vertical wind generator, which may alleviate many of the problems associated with the horizontal units. Some homeowners considering installation of wind generators had questions about the new unit.

Stough suggested that vertical units were more efficient and cause little problems associated to turbulence and noise. He also said they are well under 30 feet and produce a 90 percent reduction in sound.

Community members brought up the issue of the effect of horizontal turbines on wildlife. Stough said that the horizontal wind turbines kill approximately 300 birds a day in Hawaii and that the low frequency noise disorients the birds. He said the vertical turbines do not hurt wildlife and that you can literally stick your hand in it to stop them.

A community member asked about noise regulations and Joseph answered that the current noise code states that audible levels should be under 45-50 decibels, and 10 decibels higher for commercial properties.

"But the burden is on the property owner," he said. "You can program the unit to shut down with higher decibels."

Two members spoke in opposition to horizontal wind turbines in general, concerned with the visual and noise impacts. They both alluded that the wind generators for home use were an eyesore; that those who move to the Estes Valley for the quiet and the view would be impacted if too many were installed.

Jim McCormick said he did not appreciate a retailer spending so much time in the public meeting talking about his product. He said he did not see the value in purchasing personal wind turbines when you can buy wind energy credits from the Light and Power department at a rate of about $11 a month. He was also concerned about the visual and audible impact on neighborhoods.

"That's really the issue," McCormick said. "...the view is what a lot of us came here for and we can't be naïve to the fact that this stuff impacts our neighbors. Let's just rely on common sense. Quite frankly I'm skeptical that something that's moving all the time is not creating a lot of noise. I think we should allow wind energy, but it strikes me that it is completely incompatible with residential use. If you want to have it, great, let's have it. But let's do the same thing that we should do with anything that we are going to impose upon our neighbors, lets make sure we have their consent."

A question was raised in regard to percentages of energy provided by the local utility. Bob Goehring, EPL&P utilities director, said the local provider, Platte River Power Authority, supplies 25 percent hydropower, 2.5 mega watts of power for the wind program (two percent of town's power), with about 72 percent generated from fossil fuels. Goehring also said 138 homeowners were using the local renewable energy credit program offered by EPL&P.

Developer Jim Tawney spoke at the meeting. He has been working on a green certified project, hoping to build sustainably designed homes on south Highway 7. He said that he plans to install one small wind turbine for common lights, with main emphasis on solar. He supported an emphasis on renewable energy, stating that, at a minimum, the technology adds 10 percent to the value of home.

A former director of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association spoke on similar issues discussed in Wisconsin.

"... I do like the big wind farms, but the one thing that we lose is a lot of energy in the transmission lines," she said. "So, what we are doing here, bringing power right to the home, is we are getting all the energy right there. So, I think we can do... large scale and small scale. I don't agree with throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There's a lot of options out there. I think the technology is such that it's a moot point."

It was noted that 50 percent of power is lost through the power lines from the large wind farm in Medicine Bow, Wyo.

Several homeowners spoke about renewable energy alternatives, emphasizing the need to cut down on carbon-based energy.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all solution," said one renewable energy homeowner. "If my only concern as a homeowner was buying wind instead of fossil fuel, I could do that through the program that the town currently has. And while that's very sound... it does not offset my energy costs... it adds to it... I also believe... that energy is going to rise in cost."

With an emphasis on horizontal wind turbines that can be installed on personal property, the discussion of renewable energy in general, the technology and the methods used to acquire that energy were discussed. The obvious issue at the meeting was that renewable energy options are available to Estes Valley residents. Whether they choose to install their own systems or sign up for the EPL&P program is up to the homeowner. Regulations are currently in place for existing horizontal wind generators and as renewable energy technology changes, more discussions will certainly be forthcoming.