Wind Energy Facilities

Contents

• Statutes
• General Information on Wind Generators
• Wind Energy in Washington State
• Wind Energy Programs
• Habitat Preservation
• Noise Issues
• Land Use Planning and Zoning for Wind Energy Facilities
• Related MRSC Pages
  • Alternative Energy Facilities - Siting, Planning and Zoning
  • Renewable Energy - Green Power

Washington Statutes

• Chapter 80.60 RCW - Net Metering of Electricity
  • Q & A About Washington State's Net Metering Law () - Washington State University Energy Program
• 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

Introductory Information

• Wind and Hydropower Technologies - U.S.Department of Energy
• Wind Energy Guide for County Commissioners (), U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, DOE/GO-102006-2370, 2006. This project is designed to provide county commissioners, planners, and other local county government officials with a practical overview of information required to successfully implement commercial wind energy projects in their county.
• Small Wind Electric Systems: A Washington Consumer's Guide, National Technical Information Center, NTIS/GPO Number: 912950, 2007

General Background

• 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 (), 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
• 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 (), January 14, 2003, Washington State Department of Commerce
• 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 Energy 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 (), 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

Noise Issues

• Wind Farm Noise: 2009 in Review Research, Public Concerns, and Industry Trends - Acoustic Ecology Institute
• Wind Turbines Neuro-Acoustical Issues, Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH Maine CDC/DHHS,
  June, 2009
• Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects An Expert Panel Review (), prepared for the American Wind Energy Association and Canadian Wind Energy Association, December 2009

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

• The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis (), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Report LBNL-2829E, December 2009
• In the Public Interest How and Why to Permit for Small Wind Systems: A Guide for State and Local Governments (), American Wind Energy Association, September 2008
• Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities: A Handbook () - 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
• Sample Zoning for Wind Energy Systems (), Energy Office, Michigan Dept. of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG), April 2008

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