FAA deals blow to Gamesa
The Federal Aviation Administration has found six of the 25 wind turbines Gamesa Energy wants to build in Taylor and Snyder townships to be “presumed hazards,” but the company is continuing to study the proposed location in hopes of changing that determination.
The turbines in the proposed Sandy Ridge Wind Farm would be 475 feet tall. Nine of them would be in Taylor Township, Centre County. The rest would be in neighboring Snyder Township, Blair County, on land owned by Tyrone.
Joshua Framel, project developer with Gamesa Energy USA, said the company had applied for and received FAA clearance a couple years ago for the project, but later increased the height of the proposed towers by 70 feet. He said the FAA had changed its guidelines since then.
According to the FAA, the other 19 proposed turbines received “favorable determinations,” so the FAA won’t have any further involvement with their construction.
However, six were found to be “presumed hazards” because of their potential to interfere with signals sent and received by the ground-based navigation aid that is less than two nautical miles from where they would be built.
Gamesa could relocate the six proposed turbines outside of that area, closer to the 19 that received favorable determinations, an FAA spokesman said. If that happens, the FAA will do a new study.
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But Framel said Gamesa is studying whether the turbines would have an effect on the radar. He said the other options are to move the proposed turbines or reduce their height. The FAA says in its determination that it wouldn’t “exceed obstruction standards” if each structure “were reduced in height so an not to exceed 0 (zero) feet above ground level.”
Framel said Gamesa hasn’t really looked at having only 19 turbines on the site.
The company has also submitted a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System construction stormwater permit to the state Department of Environmental Protection. According to DEP, that department and the county conservation districts are reviewing the erosion and sedimentation control plan, and the DEP is reviewing the construction stormwater section.
In a letter to one of DEP’s regional offices, the Little Jupressed concern about the impact wind farm construction could have on “sensitive aquatic resources located within the project boundary.”
Association President Bill Anderson said the access road for the wind turbines will go up the hollow in the headwaters for Big Fill Run, which is the only exceptional value stream in the entire Little Juniata watershed and feeds a hatchery.
“In spite of assurances of best management practices and the rest, it’s hard for us to imagine it will not have an impact on Big Fill Run,” he said.
The Centre County Planning Commission is scheduled to review the preliminary land development plan for the Taylor Township part of the project at the commission’s meeting Tuesday. The company wants to finish building the wind farm by the end of the year.
Anne Danahy
14 August 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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