Institutional - Wind Energy: Renewable Energy and the Environment - page 228

Regulations, from federal to local, play a part in any project. Federal permitting requirements for
wind energy projects are environmental to Federal Aviation Administration. There is coordination
at the federal level for regulations through the Federal Interagency Wind Siting Collaboration [27].
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an advisory committee and a Wind Turbine Siting Working
Group [28] to develop guidelines. The purpose is to help protect wildlife resources, streamline site
selection, and assist in avoiding postconstruction environmental concerns. A check on archeological
sites is generally imperative at the planning stages for wind farms. Regulations on archeology differ
by state, and in some states private land is excluded. However, the developer would be wise to have
a preliminary check on archeology sites.
The regulatory process for siting a wind project varies widely by state. One state may have a
simple review process before a single agency, while other states may have a complex, time-con-
suming process involving multiple agencies and even multiple levels of government. NREL in col-
laboration with the National Association of Counties created a guide for county commissioners
[29]. Sometimes there seem to be competing regulations from different agencies, and the number
of agencies can be large. Industry maintains that regulations are now a major portion of their cost
of doing business. In many cases, industry says it cannot meet proposed regulations because it is
uneconomical.
After the critical analysis of environmental issues, a more detailed analysis should address pos-
sible impacts and measures to mitigate those impacts. Biological concerns are habitat loss, alteration
or fragmentation of habitat, bird and bat collisions with wind turbines, electrocution of raptors, and
affect on vegetation. Mitigation of the impacts has to be monitored after the project is operational.
Water, especially wetlands, soil erosion, and water quality have to be considered. The clearing of
scrub brush for roads, tower pad sites, and even for laying underground wires is welcomed by ranch-
ers; however, the cleared areas, such as shoulders of the roads, have to be seeded and monitored for
growth and erosion.
The visual impact for wind farms is quite different from that of small wind turbines because of
the number of and taller towers, as they will be visible from 20 km. In the Plains they are visible
from all angles (Figures 11.1 and 11.2 ) , with only the curvature of the earth limiting the distance.
In mountainous areas, the wind turbines will be in lines on the ridges, but in general they are not
visible from all angles because most of the roads are in the valley and the view is blocked. It is the
moving rotors that make wind turbines more visible. The requirements to install lights on towers
over 60 m make them conspicuous at night, especially when the flashing red lights are synchronized
to outline the wind farm. Shadow flicker happens and the high impact is generally located within
approximately 300 m of the turbine. In a pasture with no trees in the summer time, a rancher noticed
that yearling calves at the New Mexico Wind Energy Center were lined up in the shadows of the
tower of the wind turbines and moved to keep in the shade as the tower shadow moved.
FIGURE 11.1 Visual impact of different size wind turbines at different distances. Photo taken in late after noon
looking south. Foreground: 3.2 km to one turbine, diameter 90 m, 3 MW, tower height 80 m. Middle at left:
4.4 km to eight turbines, diameter 64 m, 1.25 MW, tower height 72 m. Background: 9.5 km to irst row,
14.5 km to back row, wind farm with thirty-eight turbines, diameter 88 m. 2.1 MW, tower height 80 m.