Lessons Learned Christopher Moore Southwest Renewable Energy Conference September 15, 2010.
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Transcript of Lessons Learned Christopher Moore Southwest Renewable Energy Conference September 15, 2010.
Agenda
• Bio• Obligatory Commercial• Ordinances• Primary Issues• Health & Safety Issues• Other Issues• Final Points
Christopher Moore
• 25 years developing, building and operating power plants
• Natural Gas, Diesel, Biomass, Wind• Renewables since 2001• Amoco, Alliant, Reliant, Gamesa, small IPPs• Projects in 20 states
Nature Energies Inc.
• Small firm based in Rochester, MN• Develop, own, and operate• Wind in MN, AZ• Solar in CA, AZ• Biomass in CA
Nature abhors a vacuum and developers abhor an ordinance?
• No ordinance – Great, maybe• Raises the bar for subsequent applicants. • A defined ordinance, while perhaps initially
intimidating, provides the road map to a permit.
Critical Elements
• Primary Issues– Physical impacts for groups
• Health and Safety Issues– Physical impacts for individuals
• Other Issues– Local issues
Primary IssuesIssue Mitigation
Tall structures – can be seen for miles Visual simulation, but unlikely to be persuasive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Sound Modeling is good solution, but the decibel limitation required is the subjective point. I believe 50 db from source to residence is reasonable.
Property Values None required, study after study has shown no negative impact from wind farm installation
Sound
• Easily modeled• Less easily described• Illinois treats sound as pollution– Type of sound– Type of Source to type of Receiver– Time of day limits
• Best method is to visit a wind farm
Property Values
• REPP study – 2003 (repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind_online_final.pdf )
• LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY Study – 2009 (eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-2829e.pdf )
• Private studies – 2004-2007, completed as part of permit hearings
• No negative impact on property values
Health and Safety IssuesIssue Mitigation
Ice Throw This used to be the number one issue, now largely discounted. More ice drop versus throw.
Shadow Flicker Modeling is a good solution and can provide a map showing the limitation of the impact. Generally, sound setbacks exceed requirements to mitigate flicker.
Low Frequency Vibration AWEA with CWEA completed a study in 2009, refuted the potential for this type of impact by a wind farm (www.canwea.ca/pdf/talkwind/Wind_Turbine_Sound_and_Health_Effects.pdf )Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Largely discounted due to underground lines
Fire (response) Meet with and train local response unit
EMT Response (chopper) Meet with and train local response unit
Health and Safety
• Individual impacts• Subjective• Resonates because most Charters require the
protection of the health and safety of the community.
• Resolution is setbacks
Setbacks
• Early development – setbacks consisted of two areas, safety zone and annoyance zone.
• Annoyance zone has expanded• The annoyance is measured linearly, but the
impact of setbacks is exponential.
Setbacks Map
Green = Signed land
Yellow = Road (500’) and Residences (1500’)
Orange Line = Property line setbacks
Setbacks MapTotal area in this example = 12 square miles
Total leased area = 8 square miles (66%)
Land available for siting turbines = 1.9 square miles (16%)
Other IssuesIssue Mitigation
Construction – dust, road repair, congestion
Same as a large construction project. Survey before and repair as required.
Safety standards Require adherence to national and state codes (civil, electric, OSHA…)
Decommissioning Typical to provide security based on engineering evaluation of net cost (reduction for salvage value).
Impacts – flora, fauna, economic As required by Federal, State, local recommendations
Miscellaneous – crop dusting, FAA lights, fences…
As required for local conditions
These are the actual project construction standards
Final Points
• Ordinances are beneficial• Group issues are what people care about• Health issues are what get raised• Setbacks have an exponential, not linear,
impact• The actual construction of the project is
almost an after thought.
QuestionsChristopher MooreNature Energies2720 Superior Drive NW, #103Rochester, MN [email protected]