The primary purpose of a small wind energy system, as defined in §
310-4, will be to provide power for the principal use of the property whereon the system is to be located and shall not be for the generation of power for commercial purposes, although this provision shall not be interpreted to prohibit the sale of excess power generated from time to time from a wind or solar energy system designed to meet the energy needs of the principal use. For the purposes of this article, the sale of excess power shall be limited so that in no event an energy system is generating more energy for sale than what is otherwise necessary to power the principal use of the property.
Small wind energy systems shall only be permitted as an accessory
use on the same lot as the principal use in the ED and O/I Districts.
All energy systems require approval from the Zoning Officer and Construction
Officer prior to installation. Applications for an energy system shall
include information demonstrating compliance with the provisions of
this article. In the event a Zoning Officer or Construction Officer
does not believe the provisions of this article will be satisfied,
an applicant may request a variance.
All applications for small wind energy systems shall be presented
to the Planning Board for site plan approval.
Wind turbines are permitted in the Economic Development District
(ED) and the Office Industrial District (O/I) subject to the following
requirements:
A. Minimum lot size of 10 acres.
B. Minimum setbacks. All wind turbines shall be set back from all setback
lines a distance equal to 100% of the height of the structure, plus
10 feet, including the blades.
C. Wind turbines shall not be permitted in any front yards, unless in
the opinion of the Planning Board the front yard is the most suitable
place, based upon topographic conditions.
D. Maximum height. Freestanding wind turbines shall not exceed a high
of 120 feet, plus blades, but in no event higher than 135 feet. The
maximum height shall include the height of the blades at its highest
point. If a height variance is granted, any approved tower must be
of monopole construction.
E. No more than one wind turbine shall be permitted on any parcel of
property.
F. Wind turbines shall not be allowed as rooftop installations.
G. Wind turbines on property shall have a nameplate capacity (maximum
ability to generate energy) of 10 kilowatts or less.
H. The base of the tower(s) for the wind turbines shall be no larger
than 13 feet by 13 feet in size.
All wind energy systems shall comply with the following:
A. At the boundary between the zone in which the wind energy system
is erected and each surrounding residential use or zone, sound levels
of the wind energy system shall not exceed 55 dBA at the common property
line as measured by the state standards.
B. These sound levels may be exceeded during short-term events, such
as utility outages and/or severe windstorms, for a maximum of four
hours.
It is important to preserve the scenic beauty of the Township's
ridgelines as commonly understood, with the understanding that the
ridgeline may be an optimum site location. With that understanding,
the Planning Board shall make the final selection as to the location
of the wind turbine taking into consideration the ridgeline, scenic
vistas, the size of the turbine proposed, location of the structures
on the property, nearby residences and other pertinent factors.