Category: wind turbines

Alternative energy production units reportedly are getting taller

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — On Tuesday, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners came to the consensus of a formula for the setbacks of industrial wind turbines to use in the draft Land Use Management Ordinance.

The setbacks for wind turbines from a occupied dwelling would be five times the height measuring from base to the hub of the wind turbine and from a property line it would be three times the height. The same formula was proposed for domestic wind turbines.

“What we are trying to do (with this draft ordinance) is determine what footprint we want here in the county and what we want this county to look like for our kids, their kids and the future generations beyond that,” said Chairman Jim Raley. “That is what we are really after here.”

Commissioner Robert Gat-to indicated that he wanted discussion on the draft document to continue. Once the changes are made in the draft document, it will be made public and residents will have until June 15 to comment on it. Raley suggested that the public’s comments be published along with the document.

“Most of you in this room have said you believe there should be some regulatory framework in regard to setbacks and those things,” said Raley during Tuesday’s meeting. “The question comes down to how do you do it without some form of zoning or some form of regulatory framework? I think that is the discussion that will be more far-reaching.”

The current formula in the draft ordinance rids the document of the 375-foot height restriction that was previously proposed, according to John Nelson, director of the Department of Planning and Land Development. During the meeting, Kevin Brokish, a project manager for the Fair Wind project, said industrial wind turbines were getting higher and that the Criterion Wind Project wouldn’t have been viable with the height restrictions that were previously proposed.

“My company and I are for reasonable wind setbacks. We think it’s inappropriate for a turbine to be a mere 500 feet from a home that is not signed with the project,” said Brokish, who noted that Clipper Windpower Development, LLC voluntarily places units 1,000 feet from residences. “More recently we have increased that distance to 1,200 feet.”

Commissioner Gregan Crawford questioned why wind turbines are getting taller. He also asked if it had an effect on noise reduction and if wind industries test for sound.

Brokish said there are tests and that in Maryland there is a 55-decibel limit, which translates into a 50-foot setback for wind turbines.

“There are two ways turbines get bigger. One way is with taller towers. I think that would help sound a little bit,” said Brokish. “As you get higher up wind speeds increase.”

After the public comment period, the ordinance will go through additional readings and a public hearing, should the commissioners decide to move forward with the document.

“It also give us time to continue to do research,” said Raley. “I can tell you the people who are worried about living in their homes would like the number to be as high as it possibly could be. Because they want to be guaranteed some type of protection. As I continue to say, I am concerned about roads and infrastructure, as the face of Garrett County is changing.”

Some research was done as to what setbacks other counties have, all of which vary. In neighboring Allegany County, the setbacks are 2,000 feet from a residence, 1,000 feet from any other structure and 5,000 feet from schools or National Register of Historic Places sites, according to data sheet provided by the commissioners. In Somerset and Cambria counties in Pennsylvania the setbacks are five times the height to the hub and is subject to a non-disturbance easement.

At a March meeting to discuss the draft ordinance, the commissioners also discussed the underground disposal of hydraulic fracturing water associated with Marcellus shale drilling. However, during the meeting on Tuesday the discussion centered more on the industrial wind setbacks.

“Everything has centered around a discussion pretty much about the wind industry. There has been little to no discussion about the gas industry,” said Raley. He said the gas industry “will bring something different. It will bring intensity of use to roadways, to trucks meeting legal re-quirements of weight restrictions. What happens when you have roads that weren’t designed for large intensity of use?”

It was stressed Tuesday that nothing in the draft ordinance is set in stone and it still has to go through the public hearing process before the commissioners can vote on it.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Company pursues study for tower on St. John’s Rock

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Western Maryland may see more wind turbines pop up along the ridges.

The Garrett County Permits and Inspections Division issued a meteorological tower permit last month to Synergics for a tower on St. John’s Rock at Four Mile Ridge between Avilton and Frostburg, according to Jim Torrington, chief of the division.

Synergics is doing an environmental wind study on Four Mile Ridge and is proposing 20 to 24 wind turbines, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesman.

Maisano estimated that at the earliest the project could be completed in 2013, but more likely it would be later.

The Roth Rock project on Backbone Mountain was started by Synergics, but is now owned by Gestamp Wind North America of Houston. Maisano described it as well-done and said there has been minimum invasiveness to the land.

“It’s certainly not obtrusive-looking,” said Maisano. “Once people see the wind projects and get used to them, they will see there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.”

Roth Rock was cited for erosion control violations by the Maryland Department of the Environment during its construction and a resident opposition group, Save Western Maryland, filed letters of intent to sue Synergics unless the developers created a plan to deal with the possibility that endangered wildlife could be harmed by the project.

In October, the county also issued a met tower permit to EDP Renewables North America (Horizon Wind Energy) for the Winding Ridge project near Friendsville.

Met towers measure the amount of wind at a proposed wind turbine site for at least a year, according to a Wind Power: Resource Assessment fact sheet. The towers have different siting requirements than the turbines, and occasionally the met tower is not put in the same place as the proposed wind turbine site.

Before wind turbines can be fully operational, the permits division has to issue a variety of additional permits, such as a grading permit, which can take up to a year, a building permit and certificate of use for each wind turbine, according to Torrington.

The permits division also has to issue a final certification, which requires copies of certification of the man lifts within each tower; all reports concerning concrete testing, grouting, torquing, mechanical and electrical testing and completion; and any Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports that are completed, said Torrington. A man lift is used to take equipment and personnel up to the wind turbine for repair and maintenance.

The county is awaiting final inspection on Roth Rock and the Criterion project, owned by Constellation Energy and also operational on Backbone Mountain, before releasing the stormwater bonds, said Torrington in an email with the Times-News.

Certificates of use were approved with the condition that all stormwater requirements be completed like as-built drawings and final inspections be completed, according to Torrington.

“The county still holds a stormwater bond on both projects,” said Torrington.

In December, County Commissioner Gregan Crawford encouraged his colleagues to support the development of zoning laws that would regulate future wind projects in the county. “We need to start the dialogue on how we can control noise and flicker,” he said in response to an update by the county’s planning director on proposed wind turbine projects.

At that time, the county also had a request from Clipper Windpower Development for a met tower to be installed just north of U.S. Route 50 for the Fair Winds project proposed on Backbone Mountain.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!