By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

Warren Roos, of Cape Elizabeth, has been an “armchair follower” of wind
energy for the last 30 years. If he is allowed to install a wind
turbine on his 1.8-acre property near the ocean, he knows of at least
three people who will follow suit.

“They were willing to let me put my head in a noose to see if it falls off,” he said, smiling.

Roos shared his perspective at a planning board meeting on Tuesday
night as the board proposed standards to allow wind turbines in town.
Currently, there is nothing stated in the ordinances about wind
turbines, therefore they are prohibited.

If allowed as an accessory use with standards, residents would be
required to go through a process similar to obtaining a building
permit. Plans exceeding the standards would trigger planning board
review.

The interest in wind turbines so far has been focused on a particular
model, the Skystream 3.7, which can cost between $12,000 and $15,000 to
purchase and install depending on the site, according to
skystreamenergy.com. The Skystream model can be mounted on a 35 foot
monopole, with available tower heights reaching 110 feet. In a 12 mile
per hour wind, the SkyStream produces roughly 400-kilowatt hours per
month.

The board recommended Town Planner Maureen O’Meara draft ordinance
language that would allow residents to pursue alternative energy while
also leaving some room for emerging technologies.

“I’d get ahead of the curve on this one,” O’Meara said, adding that
unless there is a controversial project in town, no one is going to
review the ordinance language for at least another two years.

Their recommendations would allow one residential wind turbine per lot
in all zoning districts. Applicants would have to have a minimum half
acre lot size and the turbine would have to be setback a minimum
horizontal distance one times the height from property lines, buildings
and roads. The board also recommended noise from the turbine not exceed
the 50 to 55 decibel range. An initial height limit of 70 feet was also
proposed.

Planning Board Chairman Barbara Schenkel was against allowing the
height to exceed 50 feet because they will visually impair the
landscape. Schenkel has said she favors promoting solar energy before
“jumping the gun” to wind energy.

O’Meara said she had concerns about placing any visual impact standards on the turbines.

Phil Coupe, representing Energyworks SOUTH in Portland, said in order
to maximize energy output, the turbine needs a 200 foot buffer.

“In Maine, the best wind reserves are right on the water and inland on mountaintops and ridge tops,” Coupe said.

Energyworks NORTH in Liberty has installed a residential wind turbine
in Nobleboro, however, Coupe said the Portland office has yet to
install any turbines in southern Maine. He encouraged planning board
members to visit Saco’s wastewater treatment plant, where the city
installed a Skystream turbine last year.  

“We remain skeptical this is a viable business,” Coupe said.

Planning Board member James Huebener said he was interested in a
turbine for his own property, but said he was skeptical about the
system’s payback. According to the manufacturer, Skystream can pay for
itself within five years.

The planning board considered including proof of conservation efforts
as a precondition for applicants interested in installing a wind
turbine, but determined that would be an inefficient process.

“That would be akin to telling people they can’t have an Escalade in their driveway if they want a wind mill,” Coupe said.

One point of further discussion will be whether wind turbines should be
permitted in shorebird areas in the southern portion of Cape Elizabeth,
stretching from the Scarborough line to Crescent Beach, all of which is
owned by a trust controlled by members of the Sprague family.

O’Meara said people are concerned if they install wind turbines, they
are harming birds and bats, yet if they don’t pursue wind energy, there
may not be any wildlife left.

Planning Board member Peter Hatem said without “hard data” on the
impact of residential wind turbines, it was too early to exclude an
area that could be a “top generator of wind.”

The planning board has been asked to report its progress to the town
council by November. Then the board will need to draft a set of
ordinance amendments and hold a public hearing before making its
recommendations to the council, which will refer the amendments to the
ordinance committee before voting.

Roos will likely follow the process closely.

“I think it’s great that they realize at a local level that we have to make some real changes,” he said.