The purpose of this article is to provide standards
for small wind energy conversion systems designed for on-site home,
farm, and small commercial use and that are primarily used to reduce
on-site consumption of utility power. The intent of this article is
to encourage the development of small wind energy systems and to protect
the public health, safety, and community welfare.
All small wind energy systems shall comply with
the following standards. Additionally, such systems shall also comply
with all the requirements established by other sections of this article
that are not in conflict with the requirements contained in this section.
A. A system shall be located on a lot a minimum of one
acre in size; however, this requirement can be met by multiple owners
submitting a joint application, where the aggregate size of their
lots is at least one acre.
B. Only one small WECS (plus, where authorized, a temporary
wind measurement tower) per legal lot shall be allowed. Where there
are multiple applicants, their joint lots shall be treated as one
lot for purposes of this limitation.
C. Small WECS shall be used primarily to reduce the on-site
consumption of utility-provided electricity.
D. Tower heights shall be limited as follows:
(1) Sixty-five feet or less on parcels between one and
five acres.
(2) Eighty feet or less on parcels of five or more acres.
(3) The allowed height shall be reduced if necessary to
comply with all applicable Federal Aviation requirements, including
Subpart B (commencing with Section 77.11) of Part 77 of Title 14 of
the Code of Federal Regulations regarding installations close to airports.
E. The maximum turbine power output is limited to 10
kilowatts.
F. The system's tower and blades shall be painted a nonreflective,
unobtrusive color that blends the system and its components into the
surrounding landscape to the greatest extent possible and incorporate
nonreflective surfaces to minimize any visual disruption.
G. The system shall be designed and located in such a
manner to minimize adverse visual impacts from public viewing areas
(e.g., public parks, roads, and trails). Facilities shall not exceed
the ridgeline level, where the "ridgeline" is defined as the average
height of the summertime vegetation on the parcel.
H. Exterior lighting on any structure associated with
the system shall not be allowed except that which is specifically
required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
I. All on-site electrical wires associated with the system
shall be installed underground, except for tie-ins to a public utility
company and public utility company transmission poles, towers and
lines. This standard may be modified by the Town Board if the project
terrain is determined to be unsuitable due to reasons of excessive
grading, biological impacts, or similar factors.
J. The system shall be operated such that no disruptive
electromagnetic interference is caused. If it has been demonstrated
that a system is causing harmful interference, the system operator
shall promptly mitigate the harmful interference or cease operation
of the system.
K. At least one sign shall be posted on the tower, at
a height of five feet, warning of electrical shock or high voltage
and harm from revolving machinery. No brand names, logo or advertising
shall be placed or painted on the tower, rotor, generator or tail
vane where it would be visible from the ground, except that a system
or tower manufacturer's logo may be displayed on a system generator
housing in an unobtrusive manner.
L. Towers shall be constructed to provide one of the
following means of access control or other appropriate method of access:
(1) Tower-climbing apparatus located no closer than 12
feet from the ground.
(2) A locked anticlimb device installed on the tower.
(3) A locked, protective fence at least six feet in height
that encloses the tower.
M. Anchor points for any guy wires for a system tower
shall be located within the property that the system is located on
and not on or across any aboveground electric transmission or distribution
lines. The point of attachment for the guy wires shall be enclosed
by a fence six feet high or sheathed in bright orange or yellow covering
from three to eight feet above the ground.
N. Construction of on-site access roadways shall be minimized.
Temporary access roads utilized for initial installation shall be
regraded and revegetated to the pre-existing natural condition after
completion of installation.
O. To prevent harmful wind turbulence from existing structures,
the minimum height of the lowest part of any horizontal axis wind
turbine blade shall be at least 30 feet above the highest structure
or tree within a two-hundred-fifty-foot radius. Modification of this
standard may be made when the applicant demonstrates that a lower
height will not jeopardize the safety of the wind turbine structure.
P. All small wind energy system tower structures shall
be designed and constructed to be in compliance with pertinent provisions
of the Uniform Building Code and National Electric Code.
Q. All small wind energy systems shall be equipped with
manual and automatic overspeed controls. The conformance of rotor
and overspeed control design and fabrication with good engineering
practices shall be certified by the manufacturer.
R. No chemicals may be used to control road dust during
construction.
A small wind energy system shall comply with
the following standards:
A. Setback requirements. A small WECS shall not be located
closer to a property line than 1 1/2 times the total height of
the facility.
B. Noise. Except during short-term events, including
utility outages and severe wind storms, a small WECS shall be designed,
installed, and operated so that the statistical sound-pressure level
generated by a small WECS shall not exceed L10 - 45 dBA, measured at the nearest off-site dwelling existing at
the time of approval (including structures under construction at said
time), nor more than 6 dBA greater than either the nighttime or daytime
preapplication background ambient noise level measured in leaf-off
conditions for a period of no less than 24 hours.