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Phillips approves new wind power ordinance

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Moderator Mike Ellis looks on as residents vote in favor of the new wind power ordinance Thursday evening.

PHILLIPS – Voters approved a new wind power ordinance at a special town meeting Thursday evening, seeking to regulate the placement of turbines near residences.

The ordinance, titled “Wind Energy Facility Ordinance,” includes several months of research and work by the town’s planning board, who sought expert opinions on a variety of issues revolving around wind power development, including environmental, visual and acoustic impact.

“We believe it covers the complete range of equipment in use,” Planning Board Chair Kenneth Ziglar said, “from personal to a multi-kilowatt generator.”

The ordinance includes a series of acoustic formulas, designed to regulate how far a turbine, making noise of a certain volume, can be placed near another resident’s property line. The formula, which planning board members noted was “conservative,” includes modifiers for atmospheric variation, errors in measurement and the number of turbines. The formula, which was developed by Robert Rand, an acoustic engineer, yields setbacks of 211 feet, for an extremely quiet turbine at 70 decibels, to setbacks of 37,584 feet, for a turbine operating at 115 decibels.

The formula is designed to prevent a resident from being exposed to constant, low frequency sounds of 30 decibels or higher which, the planning board said their research into the subject indicates, can cause sleep deprivation in some people. In addition to the formula, there are maximum acoustic cutoffs of 30 decibels at property lines and structures, as a back up.

Due to the size of Phillips, a multi-turbine project operating at an industrial level would effectively require waivers from a large percentage of residents. Some at the meeting noted that the ordinance would likely prevent any such project’s developer from choosing Phillips.

“You’re being overly conservative,” one resident said.

Ziglar and other planning board members agreed that a large-scale project would be a difficult fit in Phillips under the new ordinance. However, they pointed to sound as the most significant limiting factor, noting that smaller turbines, or next generation turbines that produce less noise, still could have a place in town.

“We would like industrial developments of any kind, although this ordinance deals with wind power,” Planning Board member Dain Trafton said, “to come here the right way.”

The ordinance also includes environmental requirements, a process for developers to follow and a process in which property owners can waive acoustic-related setbacks through a covenant between both owners and the town.

The final vote on the ordinance was 32 to 9, in favor of its passage. It ends a six-month moratorium on wind power projects in Phillips, enacted earlier this year to give the board time to develop the ordinance.

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8 Comments

  1. Kudos to the town of Phillips for being proactive on this issue. And the planning board deserves a big ‘thank you’ for the months of hard work they invested into designing an ordinance to protect Phillips’ residents. This is home rule at its best.

  2. Congratulations to the community of Phillips for approving this ordinance. You have chosen to value your community and the well being of all its citizens over corporate interests. I especially admire the effort of the Planning Board to include the work of acoustics expert Robert Rand. This ordinance, along with the one adopted by Dixmont, should be models for all communities to consider before the country side in Maine gets over-run by these sprawling and noisy industrial wind power projects.

  3. Good job Phillips. That is what a Planning Board is supposed to do , regulate development to protect the citizens health and well being. Remember, HydroQuebec just signed with Vermont to sell 6 cent per kw/h power. Why can’t Maine get in on this cheaper power and save our mtns. too?

  4. Gee, I wonder why we cant get cheap power………..New Hampshire just signed a deal with canada also. Anybody ever think maybe its the people in the statehouse are not doing a very good job? They are too busy building a nanny state to be worried about cheap power.Probably all Bush’s fault anyways huh?

  5. Interesting that something that important was voted at a special town meeting with only 41 people voting. as opposed to reg town meeting or a referendum

    Hardly representative of a town with a population around a 1,000

  6. Please read the ordinance. Lets hope Avon doesnt adopt the same ordinance. Its pretty restrictive against landowners who want them. Why dont we have an ordinance against obnoxious houses that obstruct views?

  7. I believe there was a special vote because the moratorium was expiring. Vote now or extend the moratorium. This was a very public, well-advertised and fairly long process. There was ample oppportunity to speak up and little excuse not to be there for the vote if it was important to someone.

  8. The facts were crafted for the ordinance. It is as we all kno wto make factts work for either side of an argument. The ordinance was designed to elimanate any large wind farm from being built in Phillips.
    As in any issue, those who are pushing for something usually show up in greater numbers than those who don’t mind one way or another.
    Maybe someone in Phillips will gather signatures and put a repeal in the reg town meeting or a referendum where it will get more participation.

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