Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects (2007) / Chapter Skim
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5 Planning for and Regulating Wind-Energy Development
5 Planning for and Regulating Wind-Energy Development
Pages 180-218
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From page 180... ...
To enhance our interpretation of wind-energy planning and regulation in the United States, we drew on the experiences of other countries with longer histories of wind-energy development and different traditions of land-use planning and development regulation. We focused on onshore wind energy, although many elements of planning and regulation that influence onshore wind-energy developments apply to offshore installations as well.
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From page 181... ...
The chapter begins with a review of guidelines that have been developed to direct wind-energy planning and/or regulation. Some of these have been promulgated by governmental or non-governmental organizations concerned with limited aspects of wind energy, such as the guidelines for reducing wildlife impacts developed by the U.S.
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From page 182... ...
. This document advises local authorities on planning for wind energy in order to ensure consistency throughout the country in identifying suitable locations and in reviewing applications for wind-energy projects.
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From page 183... ...
. Intended for those involved in evaluating wind-energy projects, the handbook describes the five typical phases of permitting processes for energy facilities, including wind turbines and transmission facilities: (1)
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From page 184... ...
184 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WIND-ENERGY PROJECTS BOX 5-1 Planning for Wind-Energy Development in Denmark Until the beginning of the 1990s, the approach in Denmark (like the U.S. approach today)
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From page 185... ...
18 PLANNING FOR AND REGULATING WIND-ENERGY DEVELOPMENT The EIA must describe the landscape surrounding the site, with emphasis on anything that may be affected during the construction or operation phases of the project. Protected species of flora and fauna require special consideration, as do birds protected under international agreements.
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From page 186... ...
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Interim Guidelines On May 13, 2003, the USFWS released "Interim Guidance on Avoiding and Minimizing Wildlife Impacts from Wind Turbines" (USFWS 2003)
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From page 187... ...
• Turbine locations should be noted on aviation maps. The guidelines include recommendations regarding: • A two-step site evaluation protocol (first, identify and evaluate reference sites -- i.e., high-quality wildlife areas; second, evaluate potential development sites to determine risk to wildlife and rank sites against each other using the highest-ranking reference site as a standard)
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From page 188... ...
The guidelines were circulated to the public with a request for review and the Service recently announced the development of a Federal Advisory Committee Act-compliant collaborative effort to revise the guidelines based on public comment. State and Regional Guidelines Several states with wind resources have developed guidelines for siting and/or permitting wind-energy projects.
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From page 189... ...
, the wind-energy siting guidelines developed by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission in Massachusetts are multifaceted and proactive, as is an assessment methodology prepared by the Appalachian Mountain Club for wind energy in the Berkshires (BRPC 2004; Publicover 2004)
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From page 190... ...
10 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WIND-ENERGY PROJECTS BOX 5-3 Guidelines for Planning and Regulatory Review of Wind Energy in the Berkshires, Massachusetts Perhaps as a result of interest in wind-energy project development in the M assachusetts Berkshire region, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission developed "Wind Power Siting Guidelines" (BRPC 2004)
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From page 191... ...
. At that time, the BLM developed its Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Wind Energy Development (BLM 2005a)
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From page 192... ...
(Another potential federal "nexus" for wind energy -- the federal production-tax credit for renewable energy facilities [see Chapter 2] -- does not trigger review under the NEPA.)
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From page 193... ...
Thus, the ESA provisions could affect wind-energy development not only via mortality of birds and bats due to collisions with wind turbines, but also via mortality or habitat loss for endangered or threatened species due to construction and operation of wind-energy facilities. The ESA does allow incidental taking of a protected species (i.e., taking that is incidental to an otherwise legal activity)
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From page 194... ...
Before construction begins, the developer also must ensure that the requirements of various federal laws and regulations protecting historic and archeological resources are met. Provisions such as these apply to all types of construction, not just wind energy, and we will not consider them in any detail here.
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From page 195... ...
. State and local regulations that govern construction and development projects typically apply to wind-energy projects as well.
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From page 196... ...
. In May 2005, West Virginia finalized specific provisions pertaining to wind-energy facilities in its Public Service Commission procedures (WVPSC 2005)
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From page 197... ...
The Pennsylvania model ordinance contains no environmental provisions except during decommissioning, when re-seeding after grading is required. It does provide guidance on visual appearance of wind turbines and related infrastructure, sound levels, shadow flicker, minimum property setbacks, interference with communications devices, protection of public roads, liability insurance, decommissioning, and dispute resolution.
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From page 198... ...
. Projects that are 100 feet or taller in an area without zoning regulations that alter an area 10 acres or larger trigger an EIS process; most commercial wind-energy projects would fall in this category.
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From page 199... ...
Even states that have only local review of wind-energy projects, such as Pennsylvania, prescribe a long list of factors for which the applicant should provide information to the review process (e.g., Lycoming County 2005)
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From page 200... ...
West Virginia's recent additions to its utilities review process to address wind-energy development are unusual in prescribing the duration and time of year for studies on birds and bats near proposed wind-energy projects (GAO 2005, p.
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From page 201... ...
201 PLANNING FOR AND REGULATING WIND-ENERGY DEVELOPMENT state, federal, and local government agencies, in addition to adjoining property owners and the general public. There may be different categories of participation, depending partly on the type of decision process followed in a particular jurisdiction.
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From page 202... ...
Indeed, the permitting guidelines developed by the NWCC urge proponents of wind energy to begin working with affected communities well before submitting formal applications in order to reduce the likelihood of crippling public opposition later in the process (NWCC 2002)
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From page 203... ...
In Maryland, applicants are required to comply with environmental regulations, and conditions may be imposed to mitigate adverse impacts on environmental and cultural resources, but what constitutes compliance and what may be required for mitigation are open to interpretation in particular cases. Maryland's Wind Power Technical Advisory Group, a non-regulatory body from the Power Plant Research Program, has recommended standards for siting, operating, and monitoring wind-energy projects to minimize negative effects on birds and bats (MD Windpower TAG 2006)
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From page 204... ...
. A Critique of Planning and Regulatory Review Wind energy is a recent addition to the energy mix in most areas, and regulation of wind-energy development is evolving rapidly.
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From page 205... ...
These broader interests may include people beyond the wind-energy development site who would like to receive the benefits of wind energy, and regional or national organizations advocating the protection of wildlife and humans from possibly harmful effects of wind-energy development. Some more-formally constituted participatory processes, such as quasi-judicial hearings, specify how individuals or organizations may petition for an enhanced status.
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From page 206... ...
206 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WIND-ENERGY PROJECTS versial facilities are sited disproportionately in low-income or otherwise politically weak neighborhoods, where citizens may lack educational and political resources to represent their own interests effectively. Here, level of review may cut both ways: developers might take advantage of strictly local review to site facilities where oversight is weak, or state-level review might consistently place the interests of the larger public ahead of the interests of a politically weak local population.
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From page 207... ...
In Vermont, rather than specifying the same deadline for all utility proposals, state statutes require the utilities board to set timelines for each proposal based on its complexity; once set, all the parties to the review are held to the timelines (Vermont Commission on Wind Energy Regulatory Policy 2004)
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From page 208... ...
For example, access to the Mountaineer Project in West Virginia to conduct studies of bird and bat fatalities was discontinued by the project owner (E. Arnett, Bat Conservation International, personal communication 2005)
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From page 209... ...
noted, broader review may facilitate better consideration of cumulative effects than strictly local review. In addition, wind turbines can be large in relation to natural landscape features, extending their effects (e.g., visual impact)
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From page 210... ...
Although experience is accumulating, wind energy still is new and unfamiliar. Local decision authorities are unlikely to learn by experience very rapidly because they see relatively few windenergy proposals.
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From page 211... ...
integrate technical information on wind-energy effects with expressions of relevant public values; and (4) enable comparisons of wind-energy projects with other forms of electricity production.
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From page 212... ...
Evaluation Guide The evaluation guide presented here represents a step toward a realistic, workable framework for reviewing proposed and evaluating existing wind-energy projects. If this guide is followed and adequately documented, the results will provide a basis not only for evaluating an individual wind
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From page 213... ...
to enhance the benefits of wind energy while minimizing negative impacts would help in planning and regulating wind-energy development at smaller scales. Uncertainty about what policy tools will be in force hampers proactive planning for wind development.
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From page 214... ...
214 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WIND-ENERGY PROJECTS BOX 5-4 Guide for Evaluating Wind-Energy Projects Policy, Planning, and Public Relations 1. Are the relevant energy policies and planning processes clearly defined at all jurisdic tional levels, and are they coordinated and aligned among federal, state, and local levels?
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From page 215... ...
Cumulative Effects 1. How will cumulative effects be assessed, and what will be included in that assessment (i.e., the effects only of other wind-energy installations, or of all other electricity generators, or of all other anthropogenic impacts on the area)
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From page 216... ...
Conclusion There is little anticipatory planning for wind-energy projects, and it is not clear whether mechanisms currently exist that could incorporate such planning in regulatory decisions even if such planning occurred. Recommendation Regulatory reviews of individual wind-energy projects should be preceded by coordinated, anticipatory planning whenever possible.
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From page 217... ...
Recommendation In choosing the levels of regulatory review of wind-energy projects, agencies should review the implication of those choices to all three issues listed above. Decisions about the level of regulatory review should include procedures for ameliorating the disadvantages of a particular choice (e.g., enhancing opportunities for local participation in state-level reviews)
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From page 218... ...
The disparities in scale, while not unique to wind energy, complicate the evaluation of tradeoffs. Recommendation Representatives of federal, state, and local governments should work with wind-energy developers, non-governmental organizations, and other interest groups and experts to develop guidelines for addressing tradeoffs between benefits and costs of wind-energy generation of electricity that occur at widely different scales, including life-cycle effects.
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