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<br />"Never before has the
<br />general public been
<br />50 interested in solar
<br />and wind energy, nor
<br />has the potential for
<br />political support ever
<br />been so high. "
<br />- Ingrid N. Kelley,
<br />Chair, Environment,
<br />Natural Resources
<br />and Energy Division,
<br />American Planning
<br />Association
<br />
<br />
<br />Bergey WindPower
<br />lOkW turbine
<br />
<br />"The way we
<br />plan urban areas.
<br />significantly affects'
<br />the energy usage of
<br />individual building
<br />sites. Appropriate
<br />site design standards
<br />and building codes
<br />can encourage energy
<br />conservation and the
<br />use of renewable
<br />energy technologies
<br />on site. "
<br />- American Planning
<br />Association3
<br />
<br />THE "POWER" OF GOOD ZONING
<br />
<br />Precedent: Commonplace or "Bleeding Edge"?
<br />
<br />Understandably, community leaders
<br />are sometimes hesitant to enact
<br />regulations that appear to be first of
<br />their kind. But with tens of thousands
<br />of small wrnd turbines in the U.S., in .
<br />eVery state, zoning officials need not
<br />fear being on the "bleeding edge" of a
<br />new movement. Thousands of townships,
<br />counties, and cities have had small
<br />wind zoning regulations on the books
<br />for decades, setting a substantial
<br />precedent for others to follow.
<br />
<br />Below is a very small sample of
<br />localities with small wind zoning
<br />ordinances:
<br />Great Falls, MT
<br />San Bern.ardino County, CA
<br />Clarke County, VA
<br />
<br />Currituck County, NC
<br />Kern Cou nty, CA
<br />Long Lake Township, MI
<br />Norwich, VT
<br />Ocean Gate, NJ
<br />Mason City, IA
<br />Wicasset, ME
<br />Rockingham County, VA
<br />Denver, CO
<br />Thetford, VT
<br />Eliot, ME
<br />Henry County, GA
<br />Cape Elizabeth, MA
<br />Rochester, NY
<br />Tippecanoe County, IN
<br />San Francisco, CA
<br />Chicago, IL
<br />Fillmore County, MN
<br />Weber County, UT
<br />
<br />Why Zone for Small Wind Systems?
<br />
<br />Your family's electric bill has climbed
<br />to $400 per month and you expect it
<br />go higher. You are worried how global
<br />warming will affect your kids. And you
<br />don't want to wait around for others to
<br />fix these problems. Generating your
<br />own, clean power sounds like a great
<br />idea, and something you may even be
<br />able to afford with the rebate program
<br />your state offers for small wind turbines.
<br />
<br />So you spend months researching
<br />equipment, your neighborhood's wind
<br />resource, and ways to pay for a new
<br />turbine. All your ducks are finally in line,
<br />
<br />3 "Policy Guide on Energy." American Planning
<br />Association, April 2004. http://www.planning.org/
<br />policyguides/pdf/Energy.pdf See also: "Planning and
<br />Climate Change: Mitigation and Clean Energy Strategies."
<br />American Planning Association. http://www.planning.org/
<br />energy/index.htm. Accessed May 2008.
<br />
<br />but when you apply for a building
<br />permit, the county office has never
<br />heard of small wind systems, or if they
<br />have, only of rumors that they are noisy
<br />and kill birds. This technology is also
<br />nowhere to be found in the zoning code
<br />and it is hard for the zoning office to find
<br />out information about how to treat this
<br />unique structure. Or, since the closest
<br />thing the zoning office has dealt with
<br />before is large, utility-scale turbines,
<br />your 5 kilowatt turbine is treated the
<br />same as a 50,000 kilowatt power plant
<br />and the permitting requirements and
<br />costs are impossibly out of reach.
<br />
<br />4 For a list of states and incentives available for small'
<br />wind systems, see the Database of State Incentives for
<br />Renewables & EfAciency at http://dsireusa.org.
<br />
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