Baldwin County Commission to consider wind farm ban Aug. 6

The Baldwin County Commission will consider two ordinances — both of which ban large wind turbines and wind farms — at its Aug. 6 meeting.

A public hearing will be held during the meeting, giving residents a chance to express their opinions about the ordinances.

One of the items, an amendment to the county's zoning ordinances, and will apply to areas that fall under the county's zoning regulations.

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The other will apply to unincorporated areas of the county that do not fall under the county's zoning regulations. The county received the OK from the Alabama Legislature to regulate wind turbines and wind farms in those areas.

The ban on wind farms and large turbines is the result of a plan by APEX Wind Energy in Charlottesville, Va., to put a wind farm with about 40 turbines in south Baldwin County. The company's plan called for turbines that could be 520 to 590 feet tall from the tower's base to the tip of a blade at the 12 o'clock position.

"Baldwin County has a very unique wind resource," said Wade Barnes, an APEX wind development manager. "It's a natural gift that the county enjoys. It's an opportunity for residents to benefit from in terms of compensation that probably the commission is going to choose forgo."

In February, the commission unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium that prohibits the construction of wind farms and other wind-operated facilities that can produce energy in excess of five kilowatts. The moratorium expires Aug. 17.

Commission members have expressed concerns about APEX's Foley Wind Project. The concerns that have been discussed are noise pollution, the size of the turbines and the danger the turbines present to migratory birds.

Drafts of the ordinances were presented to the commission at today's commission work session in Robertsdale.

"I know there is a lot to take in with this, but there is a lot in here to provide safeguards and also to prevent the large towers from coming in," said Vince Jackson, Baldwin County's planning director. "We wanted to make sure that every possibility that we could think of was covered in what we presented to you all."

Micro and small turbines, the kind that are often found at homes and business, are allowed under the ordinances but certain restrictions will be in place, like setbacks.

The ordinances also restrict how loud the turbines can be.

Turbines are prohibited from posing a burden to nearby properties and from generating noise that is audible from a neighbor's property line, according to the ordinances.

Commissioner Skip Gruber asked whether their should be some type of decibel limit.

Jackson said other places with similar ordinance have set a decibel limit. He told the commission he would look into whether Baldwin County should do the same.

"Most of the ordinances that I looked at had noise ordinances that they were able to refer to," Jackson said. "We don't have that, so we put in kind of a generic, broad statement."

Mr Ichi wrote:The Baldwin County Commission will consider two ordinances — both of which ban large wind turbines and wind farms — at its Aug. 6 meeting.

A public hearing will be held during the meeting, giving residents a chance to express their opinions about the ordinances.

One of the items, an amendment to the county's zoning ordinances, and will apply to areas that fall under the county's zoning regulations.

baldwincountyseal.jpg
The other will apply to unincorporated areas of the county that do not fall under the county's zoning regulations. The county received the OK from the Alabama Legislature to regulate wind turbines and wind farms in those areas.

The ban on wind farms and large turbines is the result of a plan by APEX Wind Energy in Charlottesville, Va., to put a wind farm with about 40 turbines in south Baldwin County. The company's plan called for turbines that could be 520 to 590 feet tall from the tower's base to the tip of a blade at the 12 o'clock position.

"Baldwin County has a very unique wind resource," said Wade Barnes, an APEX wind development manager. "It's a natural gift that the county enjoys. It's an opportunity for residents to benefit from in terms of compensation that probably the commission is going to choose forgo."

In February, the commission unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium that prohibits the construction of wind farms and other wind-operated facilities that can produce energy in excess of five kilowatts. The moratorium expires Aug. 17.

Commission members have expressed concerns about APEX's Foley Wind Project. The concerns that have been discussed are noise pollution, the size of the turbines and the danger the turbines present to migratory birds.

Drafts of the ordinances were presented to the commission at today's commission work session in Robertsdale.

"I know there is a lot to take in with this, but there is a lot in here to provide safeguards and also to prevent the large towers from coming in," said Vince Jackson, Baldwin County's planning director. "We wanted to make sure that every possibility that we could think of was covered in what we presented to you all."

Micro and small turbines, the kind that are often found at homes and business, are allowed under the ordinances but certain restrictions will be in place, like setbacks.

The ordinances also restrict how loud the turbines can be.

Turbines are prohibited from posing a burden to nearby properties and from generating noise that is audible from a neighbor's property line, according to the ordinances.

Commissioner Skip Gruber asked whether their should be some type of decibel limit.

Jackson said other places with similar ordinance have set a decibel limit. He told the commission he would look into whether Baldwin County should do the same.

"Most of the ordinances that I looked at had noise ordinances that they were able to refer to," Jackson said. "We don't have that, so we put in kind of a generic, broad statement."

The Baldwin County Commissioners probably got a better offer from the CEOs of the Fossil Fuel Industry who naturally see no profit in wind energy for them. Better to keep on making the big money at the unbelievable cost of fouling the air and the water which we humans need to have healthy. lives.

The Baldwin County Commissioners probably got a better offer from the CEOs of the Fossil Fuel Industry who naturally see no profit in wind energy for them. Better to keep on making the big money at the unbelievable cost of fouling the air and the water which we humans need to have healthy. lives.


Agreed. The rest of the nation has them popping up like flowers in the spring. I cannot believe the proliferation of windmills across America. As we migrate to electric vehicles these sources of power will be important. The tax revenue from property taxes alone help school districts and residents who collect lease payments. The new windmills are huge and the blade speed is much slower than earlier models and there has been a drastic reduction on bird impact with the slower blades.

The exciting part of renewable wind energy is that as more and more households shift to all electric autos with improved battery technology, we are going to see advancements in smart grids, and ultimately we will see the very car being plugged in having the battery used to power the house during peak times in the morning and early evening. Currently the peaker natural gas plants are turned on during high demand periods, but with the increasing proliferation of wind, which can only provide a steady flow, and has fluctuations on production, it becomes a problem during peak demand times. That time between 4-11 pm will someday have electric cars with inverters feeding the residence during those peak times, and then charging the car from 11pm until 6 am when low demand maximizes the production capacity. Smart grid and more windmills, abundant natural gas, growing solar will have the fuel choices in ten years seriously skewed from the coal based power generation of today. Clean air and less mercury in our waters will be a very good thing.

Mr Ichi wrote:

I suspect this video was produced by the Fossil Fuel Industry. But nobody will be able to prove it.

Why don't they just put transformer coils in the road at stop signs and stop lights and when you pull to a stop it gives your batteries a quick charge...of course it might stop your pace-maker....need to work on that idea...