Disclaimer: These notes are not exact quotes; they are included in an attempt to capture the general spirit of the discussion and may not be exactly accurate. Open Forum Notes from January 28, 2011: Sandy Cardon: Confirm distribution of WWG attendee list, provided opportunity to opt out. Next meeting will be held in May or June. Byron Schmidt: FAA OEAAA program for everything that sticks up in the air Federal regulation NPR action docket # FAA2010-­‐1326 o How FAA approaches structures less than 200ft tall (i.e. tower markings, lighting, etc.) o Voluntary below 200ft to mark/light—AC 70/7460-­‐1K provides details on how to do it o Docket posted 1/5/11 and have until 2/4/11 to respond • ID Aviation Board o Concerned about met towers impacts to low flying aircraft o Trying to influence FAA regulation in the future o National Transportation Safety Board report released on 1/10/11 involving a small aircraft that impacted a 197ft met tower in Oakley, CA and the pilot was killed. • Best Practice: If you want to put up a met tower, notify someone—City, County, FAA, military… LeRoy Jarolimek: County Planning and Zoning is sometimes required, to put up a met tower and can be helpful in knowing who to notify. Dawn Cardwell: Does the FAA have a public service announcement or educational program to help with notification? Byron: No. Kurt: When INL installs tower for government, they evaluate it on a case-­‐by-­‐case basis and take activities and operations in the area into account even for 30m towers. You can purchase a painted tower from NRG or paint it yourself. You can also do solar lights on top. It is a courtesy light and is not FAA approved. Byron: AC-­‐70/7460-­‐1K gives guidelines on how to mark 60m towers—this may be amended as a result of the NPRM action. Lara Rozzell: What about on-­‐demand lighting equipment? Byron: There are transponders on most aircraft that can communicate with on-­‐demand lighting systems on turbine towers, if installed. It signals pilots when they are in the area of the turbine •
•
development and works very well, but some aerial applicators won’t generally use something like that on their aircraft. __________: In order to apply for a Conditional Use Permit, you have to give exact lat/long. Byron: That is all local government, there is no federal regulation. They are working on it, but only little pieces at a time. John Gardner: In April, the Aviation Division came to speak and we asked if we could be a part of the discussion and they said, “no”. How do we get involved? Byron: John Dethomas has an open ear about issues in the aviation community. Keep pressing. Rich Rayhill: File 7460-­‐1 is posted on maps, but pilots don’t buy maps so you should go through the county. Byron: There should be a checklist for developers, and the industry should be pro-­‐active in developing one. AWEA? Rich: AWEA siting committee is working on it. Dawn: Could we get a layer on the GIS map? Byron: 7460-­‐1 (OE/AAA) case files end up on my desk. If someone has the correct credentials, they can see all 7460-­‐1 case files. If you fill out a 7460-­‐1 case file (easy to do—one page), that is a good way to notify of your intent to erect a structure. John: Is voluntary marking sufficient? Byron: Voluntary marking is a fix action, but how well does it work in practice? Well, it is only going to be as good as the developer’s budget or desires. Better than nothing, but maybe not enough in many cases. Bjorn: Is there a public land notification? Byron: Some BLM district offices are good with notifications and others aren’t. The established protocols in place are slow to be adopted. Jane Reiser: Suggestion by the FAA is a “no fly zone” 500-­‐600 ft above rotor heights and lighting is not functional from all angles. Byron: Consider purchasing a $7 sectional chart for your desired build area from the local airport or on-­‐line purchase point. Go to www.skyvector.com for an online sectional of the airspace in your area, and it is free to use. Kurt: 7460-­‐1 is a public process, it goes online and everyone can see it and say what you plan on for markings and lights. Byron: FAA has a site, a long range radar site, OEAAA site. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/gisTools/gisAction.jsp?action=showLongRangeRadarToolFor
m On the left hand side, there is a link for DoD operations where it displays the long-­‐range radar implications for turbine siting and other information about military operations in the area of the build site. Jane Suggs: What about land use? Trying to install a met tower in Ada County and there are no zoning regulations to do that through the Ada Renewable Energy Resource Classification. Where do you run into situations that don’t allow it and you have to go through P&Z to create an ordinance? Tried filing for a CUP for the tower and were denied because a met tower is not in the land use charts and they are not allowing an exception. Various participants: Check out • Cassia County • Elmore County (looking for other counties) • Blaine County Might need to step it out (wind this year, solar next, biofuel the following…) John: Issues for next time: Aviation, opposition groups, How can we be proactive and constructively engaged? Should have PUC 1st ruling by next WWG meeting, but probably not 2nd. _______: Visual impact and safety. People want to camouflage turbines so they blend in, but they need to be very visible (markings, lighting, etc) for safety. Sandy: Some issues that people have brought up today are: •
•
Power demand by time of day, season, highs/lows, annual projection of growth, understanding rates. Is this information available? If so, where? Where do the costs come from? Wind farm construction process Kim Chmura: What about 10-­‐20 year projections? Long-­‐range demand and capacity info. John Gardner: Mark Stokes has a load growth projection. There is a 300MW gas turbine that we may not use because of projection. The IRP process looks out 10-­‐20 years, but PURPA only does a little at a time.