Nelson forming rules on wind turbine use

The wind rolling off of Elk Mountain feels fast enough that the staff of North Branch School in Afton wonder if it could cut the school’s electricity bill.

If speed tests this year show that the wind is powerful enough, the school could buy a wind turbine to make electricity, said Bonnie Holliday, development director.

“We sit in a very windy spot, so we might be able to have some great energy produced by the turbine and reduce our costs,” she said.

A number of homeowners in the region are feeling the same winds and thinking much the same thing, as wind turbine dealers in Nelson County said they have talked to dozens of potential customers.

Currently, wind-powered electricity production is not allowed in Nelson County, but supervisors could change that next week.

At 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24,

supervisors will hold a public hearing and could vote on the Small Wind Energy Ordinance, the county’s first set of regulations for wind turbines.

Wind turbines are generators that produce electricity as the wind rotates them.

Planning Director Fred Boger said one person in the county already has submitted an application to get a turbine permit as soon as the ordinance passes.

Turbine dealer Jeremy Hayes expects more will follow soon.

“I think there are several people that are waiting to see when the ordinance is passed,” said Hayes, owner of Skyline Turbine in Afton. “We expect quite a few to hold permits right away.”

Steve Crandall, another local turbine dealer, said most of Virginia is not conducive to wind energy. For a turbine to pay for itself, it needs to face winds that average at least 10 miles per hour, he said. However, Nelson County has enough sites with high winds that turbines can be profitable.

Crandall plans to install a wind turbine at Devil’s Backbone Brewery in Roseland, which he owns. An anemometer there showed that the wind speed averages 12 miles per hour there, he said.

Crandall and Hayes have worked with Nelson County planning officials this year to give input into the wind energy ordinance.

The ordinance allows one wind turbine on parcels at least one acre in size. Parcels of five or more acres could have more turbines if the owners get conditional use permits.

Turbines would be allowed to stand as tall as 100 feet, depending on the size of the lot.

It also provides guidelines on the placement, color and noise levels of the turbines.

Crandall said that the Skystream 3.7, a turbine sold by himself and Hayes, is about as loud as a dishwasher, and its noise could be drowned out by the sound of wind. “If you’re 200 feet away from this wind turbine, … it’s hard to hear.”

Hayes said that Nelson County’s proposed wind energy ordinance is very usable compared to other localities’ rules. “It establishes a space where you can move forward with installing a turbine without a lot of conditional or special use permits,” he said.

Hayes said that the counties of Rockbridge, Rockingham and Augusta already have zoning rules for the turbines. The counties of Amherst and Bedford have begun work on the turbines.

He said his interest in wind power began because his other business, Lightline Construction, focuses on energy efficient building. “It seemed like an obvious thing to move into,” he said.

Crandall’s interest was piqued in a similar way. His construction business, Tectonics, was “green before green was cool,” he said.

About three years ago, Crandall built a mountain home in Albemarle County that was off the electric grid. He built the home with solar cells and a wind turbine. Since then, Crandall saw an article on Southwest Wind Energy, maker of the Skystream system, in a magazine and decided to become a dealer.

He thinks energy efficiency is catching on with more builders. “In a few years the word ‘green’ is going to go away and it’s just going to be the way you build.”