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Wind farm development rules completed in Wisconsin

The new rules put in place restrictions on wind farm developments with respect to non-participating neighbors

The state of Wisconsin has finalized rules for the development of wind farms under 100 megawatts in size.

The rules include the powers for local municipal authorities to require a buffer zone between wind turbines and any nearby wind turbines.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin completed a set of rules yesterday, which were drafted in response to a 2009 law that required a clarification of how far local authorities can go in restricting wind energy developments.

As well as the siting of wind farms, the new rules also lay out requirements for operating and decommissioning the projects at the end of their lives.

The rules aim to protect neighboring landowners and give them a stake in developments in their area.

Requirements

Included within the rules are requirements for landowners within a mile of a wind farm proposal to be given 90 days’ notice before a permit application is filed.

Under the regulations, restrictions on the siting of new wind farms could be put in place by local authorities, including buffer zones that would prevent turbines being located within 1.1 times the height of a turbine’s blade tip from non-participating landowners (those that are not hosting a wind turbine as part of the project).

The rules allow these safety setback zones to stretch back by the equivalent distance to 3.1 times the height of the blade tip.

Powers have been also included for local authorities to require that wind farms produce no more than 45 decibels (dBA) of noise during the night and 50 dBA during the day time. Noise limits would be measured from the outside walls of nearby non-participating residences or occupied community buildings.

Authorities can also require wind farm developers to put in place mitigation measures if any neighbors suffer from a shadow flicker effect – when the sun rises or falls behind turbines causing a flickering shadow.

Wind farm can be required to cause no more than 30 hours’ flicker effect a year, and if it causes more than 20 hours, a developer could be tasked with putting measures in place to mitigate the problem.

Compensation

Other rules allow a wind developer to be required to pay compensation to non-participating landowners within a half mile of a wind development, compensation limited to 25% of the payment being made to a landowner that is hosting a wind turbine.

The work by the Commission, which has taken six months to complete, also puts in place a complaints procedure and a process with which to address unresolved complaints.

The Commission said its new rules would now form a “uniform ceiling” of standards to guide the location of wind farms in Wisconsin.

“I am happy to have these rules completed,” said Commission Chairperson Eric Callisto. “Establishing clear and consistent siting standards is critical to removing the confusion that currently surrounds non-utility wind projects in Wisconsin.”