HOME > NEWS & PRESS > NEWS ITEM Turbine spurs debate: Neighbors question couple’s wind energy planShareCentre Daily (PA) WALKER TOWNSHIP — Vic Russo and Karen Dickinson think the wind that blows across their small farm is strong enough to spin the blades of a turbine and generate electricity. The couple raise animals naturally on the 12.5 acres of green land off state Route 64 that’s surrounded by corn fields and mountain views. They say a wind turbine could produce about a third of the energy they use and would be part of their efforts to have a sustainable lifestyle. “It’s just an evolution of that,” Dickinson said. But the turbine, which would be one of the first in Centre County, has hit resistance from some neighbors worried about the way it could look and sound. The township’s zoning doesn’t cover turbines, so the supervisors would have to give conditional approval before it could go up. It’s difficult to track exactly how many small turbines are spinning across the state, but they are getting more attention as an alternate energy source. According to Allegheny Power, 17 customers with renewable energy sources in the state are connected to the system. The company has 64 applications to connect to the system that are under review, including 12 in Centre County for solar energy. The state Department of Environmental Protection has a wind turbine at its Moshannon Valley office, and one was installed at Penn State’s Center for Sustainability as part of a renewable energy study by West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Funds in 2005. Ron Stimmel, small systems manager for the American Wind Energy Association, said sales of small turbines in the U.S. nearly doubled last year. Russo said the sound from the 2.4 kilowatt turbine he wants to install would be comparable to a clothes dryer and only visible from a few points on neighboring properties. “Nobody will hear it, including us,” Russo said. The turbine has a 60-foot metal pole and blades with slightly curved ends designed to make spinning quiet. Russo said it’s not the towering turbine seen in wind farms or even close in size to the one the DEP has outside Philipsburg. “They’re afraid because they don’t know it,” Russo said of opposition to the turbine. “In 10 years these will be everywhere. But right now people are afraid.” According to Southwest Windpower, the Arizona company that makes the Skystream 3.7, an estimated 250 of them have been installed in Pennsylvania since October 2006. One of the company’s windmills is in use outside the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Ray Mims, who works in conservation and sustainability at the capital gardens, said that along with a Skystream that’s 33 feet tall, a Windspire model is running outside the gardens. They were part of an exhibition about sustainability last year, Mims said, and original plans called for moving them to a facility on the Anacostia River. But it was decided to keep them at the gardens because of their educational value. He compared the noise they make to a flag flapping — a low hum, but without the flapping or an attachment knocking against a pole. Some of Russo’s neighbors aren’t so sure and would like to see supervisors turn down his request. Melvin Brown is worried about the impact a nearby turbine could have on the value of his property. He rents most of the 15 acres, zoned rural residential, out for farming, but said someone, some day may want to subdivide it and sell the lots. “I personally think it’s sight pollution,” Brown said. “In addition to that, I’m not necessarily convinced that it’s not going to make a constant noise when the wind’s blowing.” Bill Stringer, who has a large farm next to Russo and Dickinson, said his family will be able to see it from his land and he’s not sure it will produce enough energy to be worthwhile. He would like the township to have an ordinance covering turbines and a long-term study to find out if it’s feasible. The township held a hearing on Russo’s request earlier in September. Chairman Keith Harter said supervisors have 45 days to make a decision, so they may vote on it at the meeting the first Wednesday in October. Harter said he’s researching the topic, looking at zoning ordinances in other municipalities, including College Township, which requires at least one acre of land for a small turbine. Supervisors there adopted an ordinance covering both commercial and small wind turbines in October 2007 in anticipation of their growing popularity, making the township the first in the county with that type of regulation. Since then other municipalities have looked to ordinances to regulate wind turbines, including Ferguson Township and Bellefonte. Bellefonte adopted an ordinance prohibiting wind turbines at the beginning of the year after a borough resident put one in. Before that, the borough didn’t have any restrictions on them, so the zoning office applied the rules for radio towers. Borough Manager Ralph Stewart said that the borough has very small lots with houses that are close together. A good part of the residential area and all of downtown is part of the historic district. “The way the town is laid out and the geography of the town, it could be something that’s obtrusive,” he said. Russo and Dickinson are waiting to hear what supervisors decide. If they do receive approval, they’ll have testing done for about three months to make sure there is enough wind for it to be worthwhile. Russo is already convinced. “There is no doubt in my mind this is a good site for a wind turbine,” he said. |
