If you’ve ever dreamed of brandishing a lance and racing at windmills like a modern-day Don Quixote, your fantasy may soon become a reality. Though the Albemarle County Planning Commission has been debating the addition of a wind turbine ordinance for about eight months, the Commission seems close to formulating a resolution.
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Jason Ivey, vice president of local wind energy company Skyline Turbine, is petitioning Albemarle County to allow residential wind turbines. |
The Commission voted 6-0 on January 13 to move forward with drafting an ordinance, though the commissioners and staff are not without reservations. According to Director of Community Development Mark Graham, the biggest concern is aesthetic.
“There’s a recognition that the prime location [for turbines] is along hilltops,” Graham said. “We have to consider how we are impacting [the county’s] natural heritage.”
To Skyline Turbine Senior Vice President Jason Ivey, however, the benefits of wind turbines are clear. “Why rent your electricity if you can own it?” he said.
Ivey, who, according to Graham, is the only person to seek wind turbine permits in Albemarle County on behalf of two clients, also pointed out the environmental benefits—turbines are considered “carbon neutral.”
Another concern is whether Albemarle County has enough wind to make turbines an effective source of energy.
“We simply don’t have a lot of wind,” Graham said, and a low wind necessitates taller turbines. A wind turbine must be a minimum of 30 feet above any trees within 100 feet of it in order to be effective, Graham said. “We’re talking wind turbines within the range of 120 to 150 feet.”
Ivey, however, said turbines can work for anyone.
“There are all kinds of wind turbines for all kinds of environments,” Ivey said. “If they are correctly installed, they do nothing but benefit the community.”
During the January 13 meeting, several commissioners expressed a desire to make Albemarle County a leader in renewable energy. Commissioner Marcia Joseph said she feared that halting discussion for two years, as recommended by staff, would put Albemarle County behind in renewable energy exploration.
Morgan Butler, director of the Charlottesville-Albemarle project of the Southern Environmental Law Center, echoed this sentiment.
“Albemarle County rightfully prides itself on trying to stay in front of the curve on issues like promoting clean and renewable energy sources,” he said.
In the coming months, this discussion will continue through meetings between the Planning Commission staff and commissioners Marcia Joseph and Bill Edgerton, Graham said. The goal of the group will be to draft a new ordinance.
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