Wind Energy Facilities

Contents

• Statutes
• General Information on Wind Generators
• Wind Energy in Washington State
• Wind Energy Programs
• Habitat Preservation
• Land Use Planning for Wind Energy Facilities
• Zoning for Wind Energy Facilities
• MRSC Related Pages
  • Renewable Energy Facilities

  Washington Statutes

  • Chapter 80.60 RCW - Net Metering of Electricity
  • Ch. 214, Laws of 2001 (HB 2247), Section 2 (2) amended Ch 80.50.060 and provides that energy facilities of any size that exclusively use alternative energy resources (wind, solar, geothermal, landfill gas, wave or tidal action, or biomass energy) can opt-in to the EFSEC review and certification process

  General Information on Wind Generators

  • Wind and Hydropower Technologies -  U.S.Department of Energy
  • Small Wind Electric Systems A U.S. Consumer's Guide ( 775 KB), Ohio Department of Development, Office of Energy Efficiency
  • Small Wind  Electric Systems: A Washington Consumer's Guide ( 903.KB)
  • American Wind Energy Association
    • Small Wind
  • National Wind Coordinating Collaborative
    • Siting Workgroup
    • NWCC Wind Resource Links
  • Assessing the Economic Development Impacts of Wind Power: Final Report ( 962 KB), prepared for National Wind Coordinating Committee by Northwest Economic Associates, March 2003
  • Siting and Permitting Challenges,  by Timothy MacMahan, Stoel Rives - From Law Seminars International (LSI),  Renewable Energy in the Pacific Northwest, August 9 and 10, 2007 in Seattle Washington
  • Small and Household-size Wind Turbines on An Archive of Articles on Wind Energy, Electricity Feed Laws, & Other Topics Compiled by Paul Gipe, Wind-Works.org
  • Wind Energy Technology Subject Portal -  DOE Office of Scientific Technology
  • Washington State University Energy Program - Wind
  • Windustry - Affiliated with Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
  • Fresh Energy - A nonprofit organization leading the transition to a clean, efficient and fair energy systems in St. Paul Minnesota
  • Wind Energy Manual - Iowa Energy Center

  Wind Energy in Washington State

  • A Brief Analysis of the Economic Benefits of Wind Power in Washington State ( 171 KB), January 14, 2003, Community, Trade, and Economic Development
  • Northwest Wind Integration Action Plan - Northwest Power and Conservation Council
  • Wind: Renewable Energy - Washington State University
  • Wind Power Guidelines - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Technical Assistance, 2003 - Provides ways to reconcile support for renewable wind power projects with the need to protect wildlife and the State's habitat.
  • Washington Wind Resource Map - EREN, U.S. Department of Energy
  • An Inventory of State Incentives for Wind Energy: Washington ( 5 KB) - American Wind Enery Association, 2001 

  Wind Energy Programs

  • Wind Powering America - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030 - Technical Report,  20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply, prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy with contributions from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the American Wind Energy Association, Black & Veatch and others from the energy sector.
  • Oregon Department of  Energy Wind Energy Information
  • WindShare Community Owned Wind Power - Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative

  Habitat Preservation

  • California Guidelines for Reducing Impacts to Birds and Bats from Wind Energy Development - California Energy Commission
  • Wind Power - U.S. Fish and Wildlife
  • Wind Power Guidelines, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, August 2003 - Reduction of Impacts on habitat
  • Wind Power Siting, Incentives and Wildlife Guidelines in the United States ( 985 KB), Jodi Stempler, Inc, funded by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, October 2007  - The report is intended to provide baseline information about these issues as state and federal natural resource managers assess ways to proactively address concerns about the impacts to wildlife from wind development.
  •  Workshop Proceedings: Wind Energy and Birds/Bats - American Wind Energy Association Resource Library

  Land Use Planning and Zoning for Wind Energy Facilities

  Regulations for Wind energy generating facilities are typically included in accessory (for residential use), special, or conditional use provisions.   For examples see sample provisions under Land Use Planning and Zoning for Alternative Energy Facilities
  • Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities: A Handbook (1.93 MB) - National Wind Coordinating Committee, 2002 
  • The Power of Wind: Current Legal Issues in Siting for Wind Power, by Jennifer R. Andriano, Planning & Environmental Law, Volume 61, Issue 5 May 2009.  MRSC Library Loan
  • A Practical Guide to Wind Energy Development for Municipal Utilities ( 2.78 MB) - Center for Energy and Environment for the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association, 1999 posted on Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network (MnSCN) 
  • Putting the Wind to Work: The Challenges of Balancing Conservation, Climate Change, and Local Siting Issues, Planning, October 2008.  MRSC Library Loan
  • Windustry Resources - Choose wind resources topics such as contracts and easements, legal considerations, permitting,  zoning as well as other topics
  • Renewable Energy, Zoning Practice, American Planning Association, July 2008  MRSC Library Loan
  • Siting Issues for Wind Power Plant, National Wind Coordinating Committee, Wind Energy Series No. 3, 1997

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