TITLE VI PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER 15 SMALL WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS
6-15-1Intent 6-15-4 Technical Standards
6-15-2Definitions 6-15-5 Public Notification
6-15-3Permit Required
6-15-1INTENT. The intent of this ordinance is to balance the need for clean, renewable energy resources as a necessity to protect the public health and safety of the community. The City of Hopkinton, Iowa, believes these regulations are necessary to ensure the Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems are appropriately designed, sited, and installed.
6-15-2DEFINTIONS.
1.Height, Total System. The height above grade of the system, including the generating unit and the highest vertical extension of any blades or rotors.
2.Small Wind Energy Conversion System (SWECS). A wind energy conversion system which has a nameplate rated capacity of up to twenty (20) kilowatts for residential uses and up to one hundred (100) kilowatts for commercial and industrial uses and which is incidental and subordinate to a principal use on the same parcel. A system is considered a SWECS only if it supplies electrical power solely for use by the owner on the site, except that when a parcel on which the system is installed also receives electrical power supplied by a utility company, excess electrical power generated and not presently needed by the owner for on site use may be used by the utility company in accordance with section 199, chapter 15.11(5) of the Iowa Administrative Code, as amended from time to time.
3.Small Wind Energy Conversion System, Free Standing. A SWECS which is elevated by means of a monopole tower only and is not located on another supporting structure except that the tower shall have an appropriately constructed concrete base. Guyed, lattic, or other non-monopole style towers shall not meet this definition.
4.Small Wind Energy Conversion System, Horizontal Axis. A small wind energy conversion system that has blades which rotate through a horizontal plane.
5.Small Wind Energy Conversion System, Vertical Axis. A small wind energy conversion system that has blades which rotate through a vertical plane.
6.Tower. The vertical component of a wind energy conversion system that elevates the wind turbine generator and attached blades above the ground.
7.Wind Turbine Generator. The component of a wind energy conversion system that transforms mechanical energy from the wind into electrical energy.
8.Shadow Flicker. Alternating changes in light intensity caused by the moving blade of a wind power generator casting shadows on the ground and stationary objects such as the window of a dwelling.
6-15-3PERMIT REQUIRED. It shall be unlawful to construct, erect, install or located in SWECS within the City unless a permit has been obtained from the City Council. The permit may be revoked by resolution by the City Council at any time if the purpose does not comply with the rules or conditions set forth in this chapter or conditions imposed by the City Council. The owner/operator of the SWECS must also obtain any other permits required by other federal, state and local agencies/departments prior to constructing the system.
6-15-4TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.
1.Compliance with Federal Aviation Administration Regulations (FAA). No small wind energy system shall be constructed, altered, or maintained so as to project above any of the imaginary airspace surfaces described in FAR Part 77 of the FAA guidance on airspace protection.
2.Safety. Any climbing foot pegs or rungs below 15 feet of a freestanding tower shall be removed to prevent unauthorized climbing. For lattice or guyed towers, sheets of metal or wood may be fastened to the bottom tower section such that it cannot readily be climbed. Tower base shall be fenced at least ten feet (10’) with razor wire and locked gates.
3.Sound. Sound produced by the small wind energy system under normal operating conditions, as measured at the property line, shall: a) not produce sound at a level that would constitute a nuisance; b) shall comply with any local ordinance regulating the volume of sound as a nuisance; if applicable. Sound levels, however, may be exceeded during short-term events out of anyone’s control, such as utility outages and/or severe wind storms.
4. Compliance with National Electric Code. Building permit applications for small wind energy systems shall be accompanied by a line drawing of the electrical components, as supplied by the manufacturer, in sufficient detail to allow for a determination that the design and manner of installation conforms to the state National Electric Code.
5. Utility Notification. No small wind energy system shall be installed until evidence has been given that the utility company has authorized interconnection of the small wind energy system to its electric distribution or transmission, under an agreement approved by and subject to regulation adopted by the Iowa Utilities Board. Properties not connected to the public utility system shall be exempt from this requirement.
6. Insurance. A person seeking a building permit to erect a small wind energy system shall provide evidence, in the form of a certificate of insurance satisfactory to the City showing general liability insurance coverage for the installation and operation of the system under a standard homeowner's or standard business owner's insurance policy, separate and distinct from any insurance requirements of a public utility.
7. Abandonment. If a wind turbine is inoperable for six consecutive months, the owner shall be notified that they must, within six months of receiving the notice, restore the small wind energy system to operating condition. If the owner fails to restore the system to operating condition within the six month time frame, it shall be considered abandoned and the owner shall be required, at owner's expense, to remove the small wind energy system. A small wind energy system that has been abandoned may be abated as a public nuisance.
8. Signage. No signs, other than appropriate warning signs, or standard manufacturer's or installer's identification signage, shall be displayed on a wind generator, tower, building, or other structure associated with a small wind energy system, subject to local sign regulation, if any.
9. Lighting. No illumination of the turbine or tower shall be allowed unless required by the FAA or unless allowed by applicable ordinance.
10. Color. Freestanding SWECS shall be neutral color such as white, sky blue or light gray. Other colors may be allowed at the discretion of the City Council. The surface shall be non-reflective.
11. Setbacks. The minimum distance between any freestanding SWECS and any property line shall be a distance that is equivalent to one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the total system height. The setback shall be measured from the property line to the point of the SWECS closest to the property line.
12. Maximum Height. Height shall be measured from the ground to the top of the tower, including the wind turbine generator and blades.
a. For lots of two (2) acres, the maximum height shall be 65 feet.
b. For lots of three (3) to seven (7) acres, the maximum height shall be 80 feet.
c. For lots of more than seven (7) acres the maximum height shall be 100 feet.
13. Minimum Lot Size. The minimum lot size for a freestanding SWECS shall be two (2) acres.
14. Clearance of Blade. No portion of a horizontal axis SWECS blade shall extend within 30 feet of the ground. No portion of a vertical axis SWECS shall extend within 10 feet of the ground. No blades may extend over parking areas, driveways or sidewalks. No blade may extend within 20 feet of the nearest tree, structure or above ground utility facilities.
15. Location.
a. No part of a SWECS shall be located within or over drainage, utility or other established easements.
b. A freestanding SWECS shall be located entirely in the rear yard.
c. A SWECS shall be located in compliance with the guidelines of applicable Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations as amended from time to time.
d. No SWECS shall be constructed so that any part thereof can extend within 20 feet laterally of an overhead electrical power line (including secondary electrical service lines or service drops). The setback from underground electric distribution lines shall be at least twenty (20) feet.
16. Shadow Flicker. A shadow flicker model demonstrates that shadow flicker shall not fall on, or in, any existing residential structure. Shadow flicker expected to fall on a roadway or a portion of a residentially zoned parcel may be acceptable if the flicker does not exceed thirty (30) hours per year, and the flicker will fall more than one hundred feet (100') from an existing residence; or the traffic volumes are less than five hundred (500) vehicles on the roadway. The shadow flicker model shall:
a. Map and describe within a one thousand foot (1,000') radius of the proposed dispersed wind energy system, the topography, existing residences and location of their windows, locations of other structures, wind speeds and directions, existing vegetation and roadways. The model shall represent the most probable scenarios of wind constancy, sunshine constancy, and wind directions and speed.
b. Calculate the locations of shadow flicker caused by the proposed project and the expected durations of the flicker at these locations, calculate the total number of hours per year of flicker at all locations.
c. Identify problem areas where shadow flicker will interfere with existing or future residences and roadways and describe proposed mitigation measures, including, but not limited to, a change in sitting of the wind energy conversion system, a change in the operation of the wind energy conversion system, or grading or landscaping mitigation measures.
17. Automatic Overspeed Controls. All wind energy conversion systems shall be equipped with manual and automatic overspeed controls to limit the blade rotation speed to within the design limits of the wind energy conversion system.
18. Roof Mounted Systems. Roof mounted wind energy conversion systems are prohibited.
19. Feasibility of Site. Evidence from a qualified professional that the site is feasible for a wind energy conversion system, or that covenants, easements and other assurances to document sufficient wind to operate the wind energy conversion system have been obtained.
6-15-5 PUBLIC NOTIFICATION. Prior to a permit being issued, notice shall be sent not less than seven (7) days and not more than twenty (20) days to all property owners within six hundred feet (600') of the proposed wind energy conversion system. No Permit shall be granted when sixty (60) percent of the resident real estate owners in said district within six hundred (600) feet of the proposed building and occupancy object thereto, except by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of all the members of the council.