Community Renewable Energy

Additional Siting Considerations

When developing plans for siting turbines, roads, and other project infrastructure, certain other criteria must be considered along with the location of the best wind resource. In order to successfully obtain permits and financing, the project must be planned to avoid or mitigate any potential hazards or inconveniences to nearby residents, wildlife, or project personnel. These siting issues will be covered in more detail during the permitting process, but it makes sense to anticipate—and make plans to avoid—potential points of contention during the initial project siting decision. In other words, consider any potential “fatal flaws” in an initial site review, to avoid spending time and resources developing a site that would likely prove unsuitable for wind energy due to neighborliness, safety, or wildlife concerns.

Neighborliness Issues

Siting turbines to maximize production must be balanced with the long-term impact of turbines on properties and local residents. Minimizing the effect of the project on neighbors is not only considerate, but it will also help avoid opposition to the project during the permitting process (see the Permitting section).

One issue that may be raised by project neighbors is noise. Some noise, especially during the construction of the project, is unavoidable. With careful design and mitigation, however, the amount of noise can be minimized to avoid disturbing neighbors. This issue must be addressed in depth during the permitting process. Neighbors may also have concerns about the safety of the proposed project and what potential hazards the project’s operation may pose for nearby residents. Detailed plans for the safe operation of the project should also be developed during the permitting process.

Turbines are usually set back a minimum required distance or more from residences, public roads, and property lines to insulate participating and neighboring landowners from noise and safety concerns. Consider these issues when conducting an initial site analysis: Is the site large enough or configured in such a way that turbines and other project components can be located sufficiently far away from residences and property lines?

Other

As project coordinators inform the community and permitting agencies about the project, other siting issues may come into play. Project design and micro-siting decisions may be influenced by questions about wildlife, safety, lighting and design aesthetics, property values, and air traffic. These topics and others are discussed in the following sections. To the extent possible (within fundamental siting constraints dictated by the wind resource, transmission access, etc.), project coordinators should try to maintain flexibility in their siting process to accommodate potential conflicts with their chosen site or project design as they may arise.