Cascade village board plans vote on wind turbines

CASCADE – On the advice of board president David Jaeckels, during a special meeting on Thursday evening, Aug. 6, the Cascade Village Board agreed to postpone a vote on a controversial wind turbine project for its wastewater treatment plant, until the board’s regular monthly meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 11.

The proposal to install two, 3-phase, 100 kilowatt Northwind monopole turbines to provide electric power for the treatment plant has stirred the waters in the village, since a public presentation on the potential project, held on May 26. The special meeting on Aug. 6 attracted a turnout of 25 persons, in addition to the board members and other village officials.

Following presentations on solar power by Edward Zinthefer of Arch Electric LLC of rural Plymouth and on wind turbines by certified wind-site assessor and consultant Randy Faller of Kettle View Renewable Energy LLC of rural Random Lake, Jaeckels invited members of the audience to comment and ask questions and fellow board members to share their thoughts, in an informal manner. None of the other five trustees (Todd Starnitcky was absent) indicated opposition to the wind turbine project.

Throughout the evening, Jaeckels and Faller emphasized the project is contingent on receiving grants of $150,000 each for both turbines from both WE Energies and Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program. Although the village has not formally applied for those grants because of pending amendments (to be voted on at the meeting tonight) to the original proposal, Faller told the crowd that the grants have already been “pre-approved.”

Presuming receipt of the grants, the additional cost to the village would be $153,100 for the first turbine and $148,000 for the second one, with tentative installation dates of later in 2009 and spring of 2010, Faller stated. He predicted respective paybacks of 8.3 and 8.1 years for the two units, or an annual return on the investment of 12.7 percent over a 20-year period.

Based on an average wind speed of 12.4 miles per hour, two turbines adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant would produce nearly 295,000 kilowatt hours of electric power per year, compared to the approximately 254,000 hours required to run the plant, Faller said. Excess power would be sold to WE Energies.

The proposed Northwind 100 turbines, made by Northern Power Systems at Barre, Vt., have a hub height of 120 feet and a blade length of 69 feet, for a total height of slightly more than 154 feet, Faller pointed out. A much taller cell phone tower already stands at the site, he added.

Faller noted that the commercial wind power turbines in neighboring Fond du Lac and Dodge counties stand at 390 feet at the top of their blades. (Those units are rated at 1.5 to 1.65 megawatts and cost upward of $3 million each for the equipment and installation.)

Indicating a preference for solar power instead, meeting attendees peppered Faller and the board members with questions and concerns about wind turbines in general and the pending proposal to install the two units at the wastewater plant off Bates Road at the east edge of the village. Faller said the turbines would be placed 70 feet from the property lines to the west and south and that all existing residences are at least 600 to 700 feet away.

Jaeckels assured the wind turbine opponents that the board considered the option of solar power when, with guidance from Focus on Energy, it first took up the topic of obtaining supplemental power for the treatment plant in 2007. He said the drawbacks for a solar installation included an estimated $646,000 installation cost for a unit producing a comparable amount of electric power expected from the wind turbines, the non-availability of similar grants, an annual return on the investment of 4.8 percent, and a projected payback of 18 years.

When the village board decided to bid the project to a consultant, with the thought that “the village going green is a positive thing,” Jaeckels said two bids were received. He said Faller’s bid was accepted in large part because it was quite a bit lower than the competitor’s.

Although he did not convince everyone in the crowd, Faller cited a study of Northwind 100 by the independent National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which found that no sound from them is audible beyond 492 feet. He noted that the decibel sound at the turbine base is 55 decibels, comparable to normal human voice levels and lower than for passenger vehicles and trucks while Northwind’s Web site states the sound level is 50 decibels at 131 feet.

A safety component of the units is a cutoff feature, when the wind speed hits 56 miles per hour, Faller continued. The company’s Web site points out that the unit is designed to withstand winds up to 133 miles per hour.

There was a clear division in the crowd on whether the village should try to harvest the wind or the sun to produce electric power. Village resident Ron Michaelson said he had pestered the village board for years to pursue a wind turbine project and would welcome having turbines on his property.

“Why put up an eyesore? We’d have to look at them every day all the time,” leading wind turbine opponent Susan Lodl objected. She suggested spending by lobbyists is unduly generating support for wind turbine projects, warned that installation of the proposed turbines would deter residential construction on nearby land, pointed out that “industrial wind turbines” are not consistent with the goals of a small, quiet, and agricultural village enumerated in the village’s Smart Growth plan and suggested that property values in the vicinity would be lowered.

Susie Fonder and Lodl mentioned potential health concerns for both humans and animals. Lodl doubted Faller’s claims that noise and flicker would not be a problem and described her concern as “not erroneous talk. It is fact.”

At one point, Jaeckels told Lodl that her comments were not pertinent to the wind turbine units the village is considering. “Since when are you the expert today?” Lodl shot back.

Lodl challenged the statements by Jaeckels and others about “green” being part of the motivation for the proposed project. “If you’re talking and thinking green, this is not it,” Lodl remarked. “This is raping our countryside. WE Energies wants this because of the money. We want you to do what’s best for all of the residents of the village.”

Sandra Hoesel wanted to know why the board had not hired a local contractor for site assessment and engineering input (she suggested Orion Energy Systems would have done it for free) or an acoustical engineer (she mentioned Rick James of Michigan). Jaeckels said the board cannot afford to hire an expert every time a question arises, regardless of the topic.

Joel Fonder was also in the solar camp. He pointed out that solar does not carry the risk of noise, isn’t nearly as visible, and requires minimal maintenance for several multiples of the 20-year design for the Northwind 100 turbines.

Because of the concerns raised by the Lodl-led group, which also presented the village with a list of several dozen names of village and town residents opposed to the project, Jaeckels said he invited Zinthefer on short notice to give a presentation on solar power and invited other board members to canvass local residents for their opinions. Parties on both sides of the issue praised the presentations by both Zinthefer and Faller.

The wind turbine opponents distributed a “renewable resource comparison chart” comparing wind turbine and solar concerns. Of the 40 items listed, their conclusion was that the answer was in favor of solar power for virtually all of them. Faller disputed many of the conclusions and said many of them do not apply to the turbines the village is considering.

One concern expressed by the wind opponents was the cost of maintenance, which Faller said would be $2,189 per year for each turbine annually but with an annual contingency of $600, compared to very little maintenance on solar panels which would have a projected lifespan of 80 years.

To obtain the major grants, Jaeckels explained that the village’s original proposal needs to be amended to include a five-year warranty from Northwind along with a price guarantee for two years on maintenance. Faller said the manufacturer has made installations of its relatively small scale turbines across Canada and in several areas of the United States.

Village trustee Gerald Hendrickson reported that he had contacted owners and users of Northwind wind turbines and had received six replies by e-mail. He read all of the replies – none of which indicated any major unresolved concerns with installations of up to 20 turbines. In one case, the turbines are operating within 100 to 200 feet of the offices and dormitories at a youth camp.

Describing himself as “a fan of any form of alternative energy,” Zinthefer said he is the only Sheboygan County-based installer of solar power units. He acknowledged that such projects are far more popular in the Madison and Milwaukee areas at the moment.

Zintherfer estimated he has handled about 40 solar installation projects. Whether wind or solar is the better choice depends on the particular situation or site, he observed.

Several persons in the crowd indicated they had only recently become aware of the village’s windturbine venture or that it was the first meeting they were able to attend on the topic. Jaeckels and village clerk Sherry Gallagher indicated that updates on the project were included in the village’s newsletter to residents during the past two years.

“The facts were here for all of us for two years,” Sarah Michaelson observed. “Some people will be happy and some unhappy with what the board decides.”

Lodl objected, indicating that she could find very little substantial information about the proposal in the village board’s minutes since the start of 2008. “We were not totally aware from what was printed and published,” suggested that most of the business had apparently been handled by the village committee overseeing the wastewater treatment plant, and argued that having the “public concerns” item on the village board agenda for considering the wind turbine project was not specific enough to inform the citizens.

At the end of the session, Jaeckels commented that it might be best for all parties if he and his fellow trustees “think for a few days” before voting on the issue. He said this slight delay would also give village residents a few more days “to lobby” the board members because “this is why government is here.”

The wastewater treatment plant is technically in the town of Lyndon. One item on the agenda for this evening’s meeting is to annex that one-acre parcel in exchange for an acre of land within the village. This deal would involve landowner Jerold Berg, who operates a farm along Highway 28.