Setting own standards
After more than a year of planning and discussion, the Quemahoning Township supervisors tentatively approved their own wind turbine ordinance.
The proposal goes beyond county code by imposing noise limits and extending the distance a turbine must be placed from property lines.
Quemahoning will require developers to keep the nearest unit a minimum of four times the height of the turbine from the property line of a non-participating landowner. That equates to a little more than 1,600 feet for a standard 2.1-megawatt turbine. By comparison, Shade Township requires a setback of three times the hub height from the nearest property line of a non-participating landowner.
The real debate between residents and supervisors came over setback regulations. The county’s ordinance requires turbines to be placed approximately 2,000 feet from an occupied structure, a distance equal to five times the hub height of the turbine.
The supervisors approved four times the hub height as the final property line distance.
Supervisors will either approve the ordinance during the next monthly meeting or advertise a special meeting to do so.
We commend the township for taking the initiative to look out for the unique needs of their municipality.
The wind turbine industry is only about 10 years old in Somerset County. It’s important that the ground work is in place to monitor the future developments of tower structures such as wind turbines and cell phone transmission.
It’s difficult for a state or even a county to come up with one set of regulations that meet all of the needs of rural and urban communities.
Each municipality should review the county’s ordinance to make sure it meets the goals of its residents.
11 February 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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