Wind tower siting [RE-wrenches]

[Joe Schwartz, Home Power]

<x-flowed>Hey Allan,

This might be an angle for you and your customer. Mick Sagrillo gave 
me this idea. When I approached the county planning department 
regarding zoning for my Jake project here in Medford, OR I stressed 
that the wind turbine was going to generate electricity for 
agricultural purposes, mainly irrigation. This isn't necessarily the 
case, but ag. zoning guidelines are almost always more relaxed than 
residential ones. Our property is zoned for Exclusive Farm Use (EFU). 
We had no trouble getting zoning clearance for the tower and I 
definitely think the ag. angle helped.

Another idea would be to list electricity for fire control as the 
primary function of the wind genny. The county will no doubt be happy 
to hear your customer is serious about that. The trick is to figure 
out WHAT the county wants to hear.

Tower/footing engineering probably needs to be calculated with 
specific local variables, seismic zone designation, etc...but I'd be 
happy to send along our tower engineering if you think it will be 
useful.

Best,

Joe

>Wrenches:
>
>I have a client with land near me, who has two old 3kW Jakes that he 
>wants to put up.  This is on rural land that has historically been 
>off-grid since it was subdivided in the 70s; there are several wind 
>towers within a 2-3 mile radius of his land that Windy installed in 
>the 70s and 80s.  The county is not allowing him to erect his towers 
>because of current height restrictions, that I believe have been 
>enacted to control the proliferation of cell phone and broadcast 
>communications towers.
>
>Are we on the cutting edge of a new barrier to renewables in 
>affluent areas? (His/our area isn't affluent at all, but Santa Fe 
>County is.)  Here is his situation and request for help, in his own 
>words:
>
>"I am applying for a variance in Santa Fe County, New Mexico to 
>erect two wind generator towers.  The county limit is 45' to blade 
>tip,allowing a tower height of 37'.  Conventional wisdom calls for a 
>30' minimum height above all surrounding obstructions. I have a 
>building at 15-1/2' tall, leaving only a 21-1/2' clearance.  This 
>45' limit is clearly too short.  I am requesting a variance to 58' 
>to blade tip based on extreme hardship because no grid power exists 
>within 2-1/2 miles of my property, thus I must produce my own power. 
>To be limited to 45' would result in poor performance and more 
>expensive solar sources would have to be added.
>
>Any "engineering documentation" that addresses power production as a 
>function of tower height would be helpful, as the county is asking 
>for an engineer's credential.  Also, any ideas on argument or 
>related issues would be appreciated."
>
>I told him I would post this to the wrenches and forward appropriate 
>responses.  Thanking you in advance for any help, Allan Sindelar at 
>Positive Energy.
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Joe Schwartz
Home Power Magazine
PO Box 520, Ashland, OR 97520  USA
Email:joe.schwartz at homepower.com
Web: http://www.homepower.com

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