September 2, 2009

Wind energy efforts often get tangled up in red tape

By Mike Lee and Jeff McDonald
Union-Tribune Staff Writer

Despite the hoopla over renewable energy - media chatter,government rebates, neighbors who "go green" - the nuts and bolts ofinstalling more Earth-friendly power sources often get stuck.

San Diego County, for example, is wrestling with how to handleapplications for using residential wind turbines. Critics say theapproval process is confusing and drawn-out enough to discourageinvestment in green power, just as companies are moving to fill thehome-windmill niche.

Similar difficulties are popping up nationwide as regulators try toaccommodate renewable-energy projects while protecting property owners'backyard views, minimizing noise and addressing safety concerns.

"People are definitely encountering permitting problems as one ofthe factors slowing down the work and making the process a lot moredifficult," said Dariush Shirmohammadi, an adviser for the CaliforniaWind Energy Association. "It seems to be an issue for all sizes ofrenewables . . . and is a major concern for most developers."

San Diego County isn't a state leader in wind-energy production,but wind is considered an important source of the region's futureelectricity supply. Although most wind power in the area comes fromcommercial-scale turbines, more residents want to install small systemsthat have become less expensive thanks to technological improvementsand governmental incentives.

Nationally, wind-energy production has risen in the past decade.

Last year, enough wind-capturing capacity was installed nationwideto serve more than 2 million homes. A recent federal report said windcould generate 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030.

Advocates of wind power said its full potential can't be harnessed when it's snarled by bureaucracy.

Obtaining permits for home-based turbines can be tough in parts ofthe country, and California "is definitely regarded as one the moredifficult," said Jacob Susman, CEO of OwnEnergy, a wind-power companyin New York.

Impediments include the lack of consistent standards from county tocounty and the cost of permits, which can double the price of aresidential turbine, said Case van Dam from the California Wind EnergyCollaborative at the University of California Davis.

As San Diego County's land-use planners try to refine the rules forresidential turbines, companies that make them and people who want touse them can be left twisting in the breeze.

"We started in San Diego County because of the favorable zoninglaw," said Bob Hayes of Prevailing Wind Power in Redondo Beach. "SanDiego was shaping up to become the Silicon Valley of small wind."

But county officials have become too restrictive with hometurbines, Hayes said. Such systems can generate up to 500 kilowatts ofelectricity - roughly enough to power a small home. Hayes estimatedthat there are 20 residential windmills in the region.

County regulators said they support alternative energy but need tomake sure the equipment doesn't endanger the neighborhood. They areworking to revise noise, safety and other standards for companiesmanufacturing residential turbines.

"Our Board of Supervisors is very green-project friendly," saidDarren Gretler, the building division chief. "We want to do everythingwe can to make it more efficient for people to make energy-efficientproducts."

The region's potential for wind power is greatest in and around theLaguna Mountains. There are very few spots available for large-scaleturbine projects, but opportunities for residential systems exist inAlpine, Ramona and other communities east of San Diego, said RyanAmador, a manager at the nonprofit California Center for SustainableEnergy in Kearny Mesa.

Amador often receives phone calls from homeowners who hope to usesmall wind turbines but wonder if it's too challenging to navigate thecounty's evolving criteria.

"I wouldn't say necessarily that it's the county of San Diego'sfault," said Amador, whose center is looking at how to help residentsand regulators simplify the permit process. "(Renewable power sources)are emerging industries. . . . They are not necessarily covered in theold county general plan."

Red tape has stymied Gil Riegler and Nancy Kolbert, who bought ahome turbine last year but don't have permission to turn it on.

"This was supposed to be in and working quite a while ago - monthsago," said Kolbert, who operates a camel dairy on 34 acres the coupleown in the Ballena Valley outside Ramona.

"It's up. It's beautiful. It's unobtrusive. To me, it stands as abeacon of forward thinking. I love it and I hope that the county willkind of chill out."

Two years ago, county planners allowed a handful of backcountryresidents to install Skystream 3.7s, home turbines that feature a12-foot rotor atop a pole up to 50 feet tall. Last year, they approvednine more.

After the initial group was permitted, sales representatives forthe Skystream continued marketing their product even though countyofficials were waiting to see how the first systems performed.

Within a few months, the county received a noise complaint and put the brakes on new approvals.

Planners began requiring that sound checks be conducted from theapplicants' property lines rather than the nearest dwellings, which insome cases raised the decibel level to unacceptable standards. Thenoise limit is 50 decibels during daytime - quieter than some airconditioners and roughly equal to light traffic in a peacefulneighborhood - and 45 at night.

County regulators also sought certification from UnderwritersLaboratories, the international product-safety analyst, that the windturbines were designed and manufactured properly.

Hayes complained that Underwriters Laboratories has no formalstandard for the Skystream 3.7 and said the California EnergyCommission recognizes a different certification issued by GermanisherLloyd, another certifier.

"For every turbine and permit I'm denied, there are thousands ofdollars in incentives that are going to other states," Hayes said.

Gretler said the county would soon start accepting the UnderwritersLaboratories outline for certification until the company completes itsformal studies.

"The Skystream maker is a trailblazing company, and we're trying tobe trailblazers, too," he said. "Together, I think we will make thingshappen."

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Mike Lee: (619) 542-4570;
Jeff McDonald: (619) 542-4585;

Related Terms: Kearny Mesa, Ramona, San Diego County