Worcester Wind Ordinance Needs Work
Worcester’s wind zoning ordinance is a work in progress that needs fine tuning.
Since the city’s ordinance was first proposed, both the Massachusetts Green Communities Act and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ model wind zoning ordinance have both been put in place.
At the end of 2009, a set of amendments were proposed by the city’s planning department and planning board to allow two classes of turbines: small and large. The proposal also called for “as of right” zoning in certain areas. These amendments were proposed presumably so we might qualify as a “green community” under the state’s Green Communities Act of 2008.
Size Matters
But the city’s proposal misses the mark. Only turbines that are economically feasible will get built, regardless of what the city and its zoning ordinance allow.
The most economically feasible turbines are those being manufactured by industry leading manufacturers — GE, Vestas, Siemens and others — that have the economies of scale to support the industry.
The Green Communities Act lays out size in three categories: Class I, II and III.
• Class I is less than 60 kilowatts
• Class II is 60-999 kilowatts
• Class III is 1-2 megawatts.
So, a wind zoning ordinance meant to qualify under the act would need to first reference size in terms of these classes (what might be realistically described as small, medium and large).
The city’s current height restriction of 265 feet enables a 600 kilowatt turbine but not much more. But it's the large, Class III turbines that we need.
It is up to an owner to build what’s right for their usage; the zoning ordinance just spells certain reasonable restrictions. A size limit of 265 feet is unreasonable because it eliminates the possibility of Class III turbines.
The state’s model zoning ordinance calls for 450 feet, which accommodates both the industry and the necessary economies for turbine owners. A 450-foot turbine, producing up to 2 megawatts, triples the value.
We don’t restrict the height of buildings when height matters. If we did there would be an outcry, and rightly so.
Wind energy is more than right for the commonwealth as well as Worcester’s local economy.
But our dependence on Brayton Point Power Station, a coal-, natural gas- and oil-fired power plant in Somerset that produces more than 6,548,000 tons of CO2 emissions, runs deep into our economy.
Globally, our access to oil will peak by 2015. The peak for coal is expected in 2030. It won’t be easy, but wind can be part of the solution.
The Northeast is a gold mine of wind energy. It’s where our jobs, our economy and are future all lie.
As we enter a new decade, the City of Worcester must get its wind zoning ordinance right.
All that’s required is to model our ordinance to the state’s Green Communities Act and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ model wind zoning ordinance.
Then on that basis, over the next 10 years, let’s conform our city to what that act and ordinance enable — a clean & sustainable energy future by 2020.
Richard Kerver is the CIO of the Worcester Energy Alliance. He can be reached at rkerver@gmail.com.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments