Definitions.
APPLICANT
Is the legal entity, including successors and assigns, that
files an application under this section.
APPROVED RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION
A residential subdivision for which all applicable land use
permits have been issued, provided that the time for beginning construction
under such permits has not expired.
ASSOCIATED FACILITIES
Elements of a wind energy facility other than its generating
facilities that are necessary to the proper operation and maintenance
of the wind energy facility, including but not limited to buildings,
access roads, generator lead lines and substations.
DEP CERTIFICATION
A certification issued by the Department of Environmental
Protection pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3456 for a wind energy
development.
GENERATING FACILITIES
Wind turbines and electrical lines, not including generator
lead lines that are immediately associated with the wind turbines.
GENERATOR LEAD LINE
A "generator interconnection transmission facility" as defined
by 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3132 (1-B).
HISTORIC AREA
An Historic Site administered by the Bureau of Parks and
Lands in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry,
with the exception of the Arnold Trail.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
HISTORIC SITE
Any site, structure, district or archaeological site which
has been officially included on the National Register of Historic
Places and/or on the Maine Historic Resource Inventory, or which is
established by qualified testimony as being of historic significance.
LOCALLY DESIGNATED PASSIVE RECREATION AREA
Any site or area designated by a municipality for passive
recreation that is open and maintained for public use and which:
(2)
Is owned in fee simple by a municipality or is accessible by
virtue of public easement;
(3)
Is identified and described in a local comprehensive plan; and
(4)
Has been identified and designated at least nine months prior
to the submission of the applicant's wind energy facility permit application.
METEOROLOGICAL TOWER (MET TOWER)
A tower used for the measurement and collection of wind data
that supports various types of equipment, including but not limited
to anemometers, data recorders, and solar power panels. MET towers
may also include wildlife related equipment such as ANABAT detectors,
bird diverts and wildlife entanglement protectors.
NACELLE
The frame and housing at the top of the tower that encloses
the gearbox and generator.
OCCUPIED BUILDING
A residence, school, hospital, house of worship, public library
or other building that is occupied or in use as a primary residence
or is customarily frequented by the public at the time when the permit
application is submitted.
PARTICIPATING LANDOWNER
One or more persons that hold title in fee or a leasehold
interest with sublease rights to property on which generating facilities
or associated facilities are proposed to be located pursuant to an
agreement with the applicant or an entity that has entered into an
appropriate agreement with the applicant allowing the applicant to
demonstrate the requisite right, title and interest in such property.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization
or other legal entity.
PLANNED RESIDENCE
A residence for which all applicable building and land use
permits have been issued, provided that the time for beginning construction
under such permits has not expired.
PROTECTED LOCATION
Any location that is:
(1)
Accessible by foot, on a parcel of land owned by a nonparticipating
landowner containing a residence or planned residence, or an approved
residential subdivision, house of worship, academic school, college,
library, duly licensed hospital or nursing home near the development
site at the time an application for a wind energy facility is submitted
under this section;
(2)
Within a State Park, Baxter State Park, a National Park, a nature
preserve owned by a land trust, the Maine Audubon Society or the Maine
chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Appalachian Trail, the Moosehorn
National Wildlife refuge, a federally designated wilderness area,
a state wilderness area designated by statute, a municipal park or
a locally designated passive recreation area, or any location within
consolidated public reserve lands designated by rule by the Bureau
of Parks and Lands as a protected location; or
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
(3)
A hotel, motel, campsite or duly licensed campground that the
municipal authority responsible for review and approval of the pending
application under Subsection H(1) has designated a protected location
after making a determination that the health and welfare of the guests
or the economic viability of the establishment will be unreasonably
impacted by noise in excess of that allowed under Subsection L(3)(b).
RESIDENCE
A building or structure, including manufactured housing,
maintained for permanent or seasonal residential occupancy providing
living, cooking and sleeping facilities and having permanent indoor
or outdoor sanitary facilities, excluding recreational vehicles, tents
and watercraft.
SCENIC RESOURCE
Either a scenic resource of state or national significance,
as defined in 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3451(9) or a scenic resource
of local significance located within the municipality and identified
as such in a comprehensive plan, open space plan or scenic inventory
adopted by the municipal legislative body.
SHADOW FLICKER
Alternating changes in light intensity caused by the movement
of wind turbine blades casting shadows on the ground or a stationary
object.
SHORT DURATION REPETITIVE SOUNDS
A sequence of repetitive sounds which occur more than once
within an hour, each clearly discernible as an event and causing an
increase in the sound level of at least six dBA on the fast meter
response above the sound level observed immediately before and after
the event, each typically less than 10 seconds in duration, and which
are inherent to the process or operation of the development and are
foreseeable.
SIGHT LINE REPRESENTATION
A profile drawing showing prominent features, including but
not limited to topography, buildings, and trees, along and in relation
to a line of sight extending from an observer's eye to the lowest
point visible on a proposed tower.
SUBSTANTIAL START
That construction shall be considered to be substantially
commenced when any work beyond excavation, including but not limited
to, the pouring of a slab or footings, the installation of piles,
the construction of columns, or the placement of a tower on a foundation
has begun.
TOWER
The freestanding structure on which a wind measuring or energy
conversion system is mounted.
TURBINE HEIGHT
The distance measured from the surface of the tower foundation
to the highest point of any turbine rotor blade measured at the highest
arc of the blade.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY
A facility that uses one or more wind turbines to convert
wind energy to electrical energy. A wind energy facility includes
generating facilities and associated facilities.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY, TYPE 1A
A wind energy facility having a maximum generating capacity
of less than 100 kW, a maximum of one wind turbine and a maximum turbine
height of 80 feet.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY, TYPE 1B
A wind energy facility having a maximum generating capacity
of less than 100 kW and either more than one wind turbine, or one
or more wind turbines with a turbine height greater than 80 feet.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY, TYPE 2
A wind energy facility having a maximum generating capacity
of 100 kW or greater and which does not require a state permit issued
by the Department of Environmental Protection under the Site Location
of Development Act, 38 M.R.S.A. § 481 et seq.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY, TYPE 3
A wind energy facility having a generating capacity of 100
kW or greater and which requires a state permit issued by the Department
of Environmental Protection under the Site Location of Development
Act, 38 M.R.S.A. § 481 et seq.
WIND TURBINE
A system for the conversion of wind energy into electricity
which is comprised of a tower, generator, nacelle, rotor and transformer.