By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

Will the winds of change blow through Cape Elizabeth?

With the town’s planning board considering a zoning amendment that
would permit small wind energy systems or turbines in town, residents
may be able to harness the force of nature to power their homes.

At the direction of the town council, the planning board is working to
craft language in the town’s ordinances to allow for wind turbines,
solar panels and other emerging “green” technology. The planning board
will review the language regarding wind turbines at a 7 p.m. meeting on
Nov. 26 and will likely schedule a public hearing for Dec. 18.

As proposed by Town Planner Maureen O’Meara, the amendments would allow
for a wind turbine, with a maximum output of 100 kilowatts, to “produce
electric power primarily for on-site consumption, or consumption on an
adjacent lot when more than one lot is held in common ownership.”

The turbines would be permitted in the town’s residential, business, town center and Fort Williams zoning districts.

In order to install a wind turbine on their property, residents would
have to obtain a building permit from the code enforcement officer,
according to the draft. No more than one turbine would be permitted per
lot, which must be a minimum of 20,000 square feet in area. The system
could only be used to generate electricity for the lot’s main building
and any accessory buildings located on the same lot. According to the
draft, a minimum setback requirement would be “50 percent of the
distance from the ground to the top of the furthest reach of the wind
turbine blades.”  Property owners who are unable to meet that
setback would be required to obtain design approval from a licensed
professional engineer.

The structure’s maximum height would be set at 100 feet and it would be
required to meet design and noise standards.   

Much of the planning board’s discussion has been focused around the
Skystream 3.7 wind turbine, which can produce roughly 400-kilowatt
hours per month when located in an area with 12 miles per hour winds.
According to the manufacturer, Southwest Windpower, the purchase and
installation price of the Skystream model ranges from $12,000 to
$15,000 depending on site characteristics. Available tower heights
range from 33 feet to 110 feet.

At a Nov. 6 workshop, planning board members said while they don’t
anticipate many residents will want a wind turbine on their property,
they do not want to prohibit those who do have an interest.

“It’s a lousy payback and it’s throwing money away so I don’t think many people are going to do it,” said James Huebener.

Planning Board Chairman Barbara Schenkel was in the minority with her
opposition to the tower’s height, as other members said the system
would have to be at least 100 feet for homeowners to get any results
from their investment.

As a whole, the planning board has said it does not want to limit
residents’ opportunities to tap into new alternative energy
technologies.