Nockamixon enacts wind energy rules
Rising electric rates and a push toward green energy could quickly bring wind energy turbines to Nockamixon, a community with no shortage of open fields and farmland.
That’s why township officials hurried to lay down guidelines, said Supervisor Chairwoman Nancy Janyszeski.
“We felt it was prudent to put regulations in place before we get an application for one,” she said.
Wind-powered turbines have become a new wave in green energy.
Like solar panels, more homeowners are choosing to erect wind turbines on their property.
The turbines generate electricity, often producing enough to significantly reduce or eliminate a homeowner’s electric bill.
Residents can also sell any unconsumed energy back to the electric company.
First and foremost, Nockamixon’s new restrictions guard against residents and businesses primarily looking to make a profit off wind energy systems, said Supervisor Al Santopietro.
“It isn’t opening it up for commercial entities. We don’t want commercial wind farms,” said Santopietro, who noted that the hilly, Upper Bucks township might not have the right landscape for that type of business, regardless. “We tried to make it so that people that wanted to do it, they could, with some regulations.”
Nockamixon now requires homeowners who want to erect a wind turbine to have at least two acres of property. The turbines cannot be located less than 100 feet from a property line, street and overhead utility or telecommunication lines.
“It’s a safety thing,” he said. “You can have wind energy on your property as long as there are setbacks involved.”
Homeowners are also restricted to one wind device with a maximum height of 100 feet. Permits from the township are also required, according to the ordinance, enacted Dec. 16.
Nockamixon isn’t the first to look at wind energy regulations.
Haycock enacted an ordinance in 2008.
Doylestown Township is working on one, which supervisors hope to approve early next year.
For Supervisor Janyszeski, it’s another accomplishment in preserving the environment and rural character of Nockamixon.
“We’re very pleased. It’s one more thing to add to our list,” she said. “We’ve got a lighting ordinance, groundwater ordinance and now a wind ordinance. It’s just about being prepared.”
By: AMANDA CREGAN
The Intelligencer
25 December 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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