a) CWECS. No person may construct a CWECS without a site permit from the board. No person may commence construction of a CWECS until the board has issued a site permit for the CWECS.
b) NWECS. A site permit from the board is not required to construct an NWECS. Nothing in this chapter precludes a local governmental unit from establishing alternate requirements for the siting and construction of an NWECS.
c) Expansion of existing system. No person may expand an existing CWECS by any amount or expand an NWECS to exceed 50 kW without a site permit from the board. A new project is considered an expansion of an existing WECS if the new WECS is within five miles of any turbine in the existing WECS, both projects are under common ownership, and the new WECS is proposed less than three years after the existing WECS commenced operation. Two WECS are under common ownership if the proposer of the new project, or a principal of the proposer, has an ownership or other financial interest in the existing WECS, although two projects are not under common ownership solely because the same person provided equity financing for both projects.
Applicants shall submit an application and be required to obtain approval from the Town of X before a building permit may be issued for the construction or operation of any WECS in the town.
Site Permit Application shall include, at a minimum, the following items:
Applicant and landowner's name and contact information, including day and evening phone numbers.
All information outlined in these sub-sections:
A decommissioning plan including all components of the CWECS prepared by the applicant and approved by the landowner(s).
That plan shall include at least 1) the anticipated life of the project, 2) the estimated decommissioning costs in US dollars, adjusted for inflation, 3) the method of ensuring that funds will be available for decommissioning and restoration subject to General Requirement, and 4) the anticipated manner in which the project will be decommissioned and the site restored.
A design plan drawn in sufficient detail to show the following shall be submitted for each type of turbine:
- Dimensional representation of the various structural components of the tower construction, including base and footing.
- Mapped location and description of all proposed maintenance and parts storage areas, including oil storage.
- Design data indicating the basis of design, including manufacturer's dimensional drawings and installation and operation instructions.
- Certification by a registered professional engineer that the tower design is sufficient to withstand wind-load requirements for structures as established by the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
- Certification by a registered professional engineer that the tower design is sufficient to withstand seismic requirements for structures within fault areas as established by the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
- Certification by an electrical engineer or qualified electrical technician or utility, that the electrical system, including all lighting, meets prescribed limits for harmonic distortion outlined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the 1992 IEEE Standard 519.
DEIS. Applicatins shall be required to prepare and submit a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Erosion Control Plan. An erosion control plan, developed in consultation with the Planning Department, should include the seeding of all road cuts or related bare road areas as a result of all construction, demolition and rehabilitation with an appropriate mix of native vegetation of local provenance suited to the area.
Weed Control Plan. A weed control plan addressing prevention and control of all Cornell County Cooperative Extension of Y County identified noxious weeds directly resulting from the CWECS during preparation, construction, operation and demolition/decommissioning.
Agricultural Mitigation Report. An agricultural mitigation plan addressing all guidelines listed in the section on "Agricultural Mitigation." A separate agricultural mitigation report must be submitted for each land parcel impacted.
A site plan drawn in sufficient detail to show the following shall be submitted for each turbine:
- Location of the tower(s) on the site and the all dimensions, including blades, rotor diameter and ground clearance. Unless otherwise specified, all dimensions will be provided in standard US measurements.
- Utility lines, both above and below ground, within a radius equal to 1.65 times the proposed total height of the turbine (1.65 x total height).
- Right-of-ways, including rail, snowmobile, and public access trails, within a radius equal to 1.6 times the proposed total height of the turbine (1.6 x total height).
- Property lot lines and location and dimensions of all existing structures and uses on the site within 1.6 times the total height of the turbine (1.6 x total height).
- Federal, state, county or local parks, recognized historic or heritage sites, state-identified wetlands and New York Audubon's GIS database bird areas within 1.6 times the total height of the turbine (1.6 x total height).
- Mapped or diagrammed location and number of hours per year of shadow flicker or other visual effect of the turbine relating to the level of natural or artificial illumination within 4.5 times the total height of the turbine (4.5 x total height).
- Surrounding land use and all structures within 4.5 times the total height of the turbine (4.5 x total height). Occupied structures shall be so designated, along with their primary use.
Visual simulations shall be submitted in sufficient detail to show the following shall be submitted for each turbine:
- a project visibility map, based on a digital elevation model, showing the impact of topography upon visibility of the project, to a radius of three miles from the center of the project.
- No fewer than seven, and no more than the number of proposed invdividual wind turbines, plus three color photos, no smaller than four by six (4x6) inches, taken from locations within a one-mile radius from teh site and to be selected by the Planning Board, and computer-enhanced to simulate the appearance of the as-built site facilities as they would appear from these locations.
Viewshed Impact. A visual impact report shall be submitted including the following items:
- A viewshed map and/or cross-section analysis to identify areas with potential views of the project.
- For each cardinal direction, a description of the character and quality of the affected landscape.
- An evaluation of the project's visual impact based on the viewshed mapping and photographic simulations described above.
- Recommended visual mitigation measures (in accordance with DEC Policy DEP-00-2), based on the results of the impact evaluation described above.
Shadow Flicker. Mathematical modeling of the Shadow Flicker potential for all residences located within 1,000 m of the proposed wind farm to assess any potential impacts. The shadow flicker experienced at any dwelling in the surrounding area shall not exceed 3 hours per year as a result of the operation of the wind energy facility. The Application shall indicate how shadow flicker has been calculated and the results of the modeling.
Appropriate bird migration studies shall be submitted. The Application shall solicit input from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on such studies.
The Planning Board may require any further information it finds necessary to review the application.
Expiration. A permit issued pursuant to this chapter expires if:
- the WECS is not installed and functioning within two (2) years from the date the permit is issued; or
- the WECS is out of service or otherwise unused for a continuous twelve (12) month period.
Fees. The application for a Special Use Permit for a WECS must be accompanied by the fee required for a Special Use Permit.