The Addison Township Planning Commission discussed the siting and policy issues regarding wind energy at its Feb. 10 meeting as it works to draft policies governing township wind energy usage.
Wind energy is being explored as a clean energy alternative that could potentially save the township money in energy bills.
Commissioner Ed Brakefield, who also serves as a township trustee, spoke to the other commissioners about the two wind turbines he has at his Curtis Road residence.
Brakefield had the two turbines installed at his residence Feb. 3 by South Bend, Ind.-based Wind-Wire. The commissioner said he’d been researching the issue for a year and a half before purchasing the two turbines last October.
Skystream manufactured his turbines while Wind-Wire was the contractor who installed them.
Through an underground wiring system, the two turbines go directly into his DTE meter box that provides energy for his house. With enough wind, the turbines would not only save Brakefield on energy bills, but they could also roll the meter back. He estimated they could save his house up to 1,200 kilowatts monthly.
‘When we feed the 220 (wire) up to the house it builds a magnetic field,? said Glen Smith, who co-owns Wind-Wire and oversees the company’s Southern Michigan and Illinois markets. ‘The power generated from the blades pushes the electricity right back into the panel and back into the house.?
Wind turbines aren’t very common in Michigan, Smith said, but it’s a growing trend as people tire of paying huge energy bills.
Smith added Wind-Wire is considering Addison Township as a potential location for a Michigan office.
The two turbines cost about $33,000 combined, but with the amount of potential energy they could save down the road, they could quickly pay for themselves.
‘What we’re seeing right now is the price of fuel going up,? Brakefield said. ‘Going green, I believe, is the way of the future. Keeping the environment first and foremost is the way to go and I believe this is the first step towards doing that.?
Brakefield invited the planning commission to drive by his residence and take a look at the turbines to get an idea of how they work.
The commission considered several issues regarding wind energy. Among them were tower height (one proposal called for a maximum height of 100 feet for a tower placed directly in the middle of a one-acre site); tower setback (if it were to fall); noise levels; construction materials; avoiding climbing hazards (specifically, to discourage kids from trying to climb them); decommissioning turbines when they’re no longer used and restoring the site when wind generators are no longer on site (to avoid hazards for an unwitting future owner of the property); and overhead/underground wires.
Planning Commission Chairperson Lawrence Smith noted how Michigan state legislation in 2008 encouraged increased usage of wind energy. ‘I think it’s prudent for the township to consider wind energy policy and issues,? he said.
The commission then discussed the proposed ordinances and discussed which applied to the township and which did not, along with the exact role of wind turbines in Addison.
Brakefield told the commission tower setbacks should be 110 percent of the total height of a tower. For example, for a 50-foot tower, the fall zone would need to be 55 feet.
‘If you meet tower setbacks, you’re not worried about other buildings,? Brakefield said.
Brakefield’s turbines are next to his stable, but he told the commission he’s not worried about the potential damage of the turbine falling onto the stable. The survival wind speed for a turbine is about 140 mph, he said, a wind speed the stable couldn’t tolerate.
‘I believe it would take more wind to knock the turbines over than it would to take the stable down,? he said.
As far as the noise, Brakefield said the proposed 55 decibel limit was right around what his turbines created. ‘Wind blowing through trees has a higher decibel level than turbines,? he added.
Regarding climbing hazards, Brakefield told the commission a fence might be a good idea to put around the turbines to prevent vandals from trying to sabotage the turbine’s control box as well as to discourage kids and the curious from trying to climb it; besides potential injuries from falling, climbing also carried electrocution hazards.
‘We need protection for the turbines, especially the commercial ones,? he said.
Because even the private wind turbines can have a solid slab of concrete (a three-foot diameter base and metal that goes 13 feet into the ground) it can cause problems if the tower is ever decommissioned–especially if a future owner is unaware of large, leftover underground slabs at the former turbine sites.
Finally, the commission discussed overhead versus underground wires. Typically, because they’re so high up in the air, turbines don’t have overhead wires, Brakefield said.
His two turbines are within 50 feet of each other. He noted that the closer the towers are, the better it is since it can be very expensive running wiring underground; more distance means more wiring.
He added: ‘Of course, you’ll have underground (wires). They are in the column and then underground and go to power supply grid. Every wind turbine has underground wires go somewhere.?
A stipulation for overhead wires might be necessary if the concern is for utility pole overhead wires within a turbine’s fall zone, he said, adding that a solution would be to make a provision that the fall zone has to be within overhead power lines and so many feet from them and the property line.