Turbines generate less resistance - Planners embrace wind energy, but procedure is a challenge

``They're supportive of wind power," Lee Hartmann , the town's director of planning and development, said of local officials. ``The real discussion is how to proceed."

Planning Board member Loring Tripp , who in the past warned against a potential decline in local real estate values from giant view-blocking windmills, said even he has come around to supporting wind-generated power. Tripp said he is eager to see the town find a way to encourage building turbines while protecting residential neighborhoods.

But, he said, ``the process is not exactly moving like the wind."

Last year Town Meeting approved a bylaw allowing large commercial wind-power generators to be built on 5 -acre sites the town owned. But that rule was knocked down by the state attorney general on the grounds that it violated a state law against zoning rules that give an unfair advantage to a particular land owner -- in this case, the town of Plymouth.

After the bylaw was invalidated, Hartmann said, various theories of what to do next emerged. The preferred approach was a detailed land-use study of the town to create zones where wind turbines would be permitted. But that kind of professional study, known as a master plan process, is expensive and time consuming, Hartmann said.

``We don't have that kind of technical expertise to do the study in-house," he said, adding that the town would have to hire a consultant. Moreover, the entire process would take years, he said.

Meanwhile, as Plymouth has struggle d to bring alternative energy projects to town, Hull has built a second , larger wind turbine, lowering local energy bills even further.

Other area communities have made progress, too. In May , Wareham's Town Meeting passed a bylaw permitting construction of a wind turbine on town-owned or private property of at least 5 acres and allowing the town's zoning board to consider proposals for clustered turbines on an appropriate site. Kingston has been monitoring wind speed with an eye toward siting generators at its wastewater treatment plant. And last month, Bourne , Plymouth's neighbor to the south, formed a Wind Turbine Subcommittee to study questions such as the possibility of permitting smaller turbines -- questions that have been raised in Plymouth, too.

Ahead of the curve, Fairhaven , which passed a siting bylaw a year ago, has since received proposals from developers. A proposal to build offshore turbines has received support from local and state officials, but has been greeted with skepticism by some lobstermen and other residents.

The Plymouth Energy Committee , formed two years to pursue ways of reducing local energy costs, is looking for ways to encourage construction of large wind-power turbines on the order of those operating in Hull, which generate 2 to 2 1/2 megawatts, said its chairman, Brian Kuhn . Kuhn said the committee is working on a request for proposals for wind turbines to be built on town land near its wastewater plant, and that a siting bylaw would firm up that effort.

But while the panel will offer a revised plan to the annual Town Meeting in October , it's too early to say what its specifics will be, said Kuhn. Having abandoned the master plan route, one approach the committee could take would be to remove the ``town-owned land" restriction from last year's proposal, he said.

But officials agree that residents' interests need more protection. Homeowners should not have to worry about a 300 -foot turbine going up in a neighbor's backyard. In a town of more than 100 square miles, they said, too many 5-acre plots are available to turbine developers.

``One of the key things about zoning is having some predictability," Tripp said.

Hartmann said town planners are coming around to the view that requiring a special permit process might be protection enough. Under the town's current practices, developers seeking special permits for one-time projects submit detailed requests that are examined on a case-by-case basis in a public hearing by the Planning Board and the town's Planning Department. Special permits are the basis for The Pinehills, the planned community that is now one of the town's biggest taxpayers; the Makepeace company's new village development; and any project involving the transfer of development rights from one part of town to another.

``The town has a decent amount of control to decide whether it's appropriate or not," Hartmann said. ``I feel very comfortable with that process."

Hartmann said he expects interest in wind power in Plymouth will only grow. ``With the increases in utilities and energy costs, we can definitely expect to see more requests for wind power," he said. In fact, Plymouth's zoning board recently permitted a small wind mill for private use in rural South Plymouth.

Tripp agreed. ``I'm even considering my own windmill," he said.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.