Frequently Asked Questions about Wind Parks

Q - How do you decide where to place a wind turbine?
A - Placement of the turbines is determined by two main factors: the elevation of the area and proximity to a transmission line. A small increase in wind speed results in a large increase in power output from the turbine, so of course developers want to find the windiest sites. The wind speed increases with altitude and is slowed down by surface hindrances such as trees, rough hilly terrain, and buildings. Also, the parks need to be constructed relatively close to an existing transmission line. Due to the cost of building transmission lines, it is cost prohibitive to build a wind park more than a couple miles away from a high voltage line. In addition, the turbines need to be placed 3 to 5 rotor diameters apart (900 – 1200 ft.) in order to minimize the effects of one turbine obstructing the wind for another turbine.

Q - How much electricity does one of these turbines produce?
A - One 1.5-MW (megawatt) wind turbine will produce approximately 5,000,000kWh (kilowatt- hours) per year, which is enough to power about 500 homes. Therefore, a 20MW wind park would produce enough electricity for roughly 7,000 homes.

Q – How tall are the turbines?
A - Modern wind turbines are placed on towers that are about 300 ft. in height. The blades are usually about 100 feet long, so at the top of its arc, a blade tip could be more than 400 feet in the air.

Q - How fast does the wind need to be for the turbine to produce electricity?
A – The turbine will produce electricity anytime it is spinning, so even in the lightest breeze some electricity will be produced. However, for a wind park to be economically viable, the wind regime must have approximately a 16-mph annual average wind speed at the height of the turbine hub.

Q - What if the wind speed gets too high?
A – The turbines have a several safety features that engage when wind speeds get too high. The turbine constantly monitors the wind to determine if the wind speed goes above its specified operating range. If this happens, the blades will begin to feather or shift, thus reducing the amount of wind they capture. Also, the gearbox inside the turbine has a braking system that will engage to reduce the rotation speed of the turbine and eventually stop the turbine if the wind speeds become too high.

Q - How loud are the turbines?
A - Modern wind turbines are very quiet. The noise produced by a wind turbine is a combination of the “swoosh” of the blades flying through the air and the hum from the gearbox and generator. The overall noise level has been compared to that of a modern refrigerator. When standing near a modern wind turbine, the background noise of the wind rushing past your ears will usually drown out any noise from the wind turbine.

Q - How much will it disturb my property?
A – When the park is constructed, a road will be built to allow vehicles to get to the turbines, initially for construction and later for maintenance. During construction, an area around the turbine will be dug up. After construction is complete, which is usually within three months of breaking ground, the area around the turbines will be leveled and covered with gravel or seeded back to grass. When construction is complete, the only areas of the leased land to be used will be the road and a small area surrounding the turbine. The remaining land will be available for use in whatever way it was utilized prior to construction.

Q- How much land would a project take up, once it is completed?
A – Each turbine takes up the area of a circle 20 feet in diameter. A road about 16 feet in width will also be built running between the turbines. The entire park, once constructed, will only use about 2 or 3 acres of land.

Q - Can the leased land still be used for farming or grazing livestock?
A- The land surrounding the turbines will be available for use as if turbines were not even there. All electrical components are either underground or enclosed in the base structure of the turbine. This means that it is safe for people or livestock to walk right up to the base of the structure.

Q - What about noxious weeds that grow up around the structures and roads that are built?
A – The turbine operator is responsible for keeping down the weeds along the road servicing the turbines and in the area surrounding the turbines. This is written into the lease, so there is no ambiguity about task.

Q - How long does the lease go for?
A - The lease runs for 40 years. After 20 to 25 years, depending on the extent of wear on the turbines, new turbines will be installed in the park on the same foundations that were laid for the first set of turbines.

Q – Why do you need to lease the land for such a long time?
A – The need for a detailed lease is due to the nature of the equipment that will be used in the park. The park costs about $2 million per Megawatt of installed capacity. So, in order to recoup the cost of the park, the turbines need to be up for a rather long time. The turbines are also massive, industrial-size pieces of equipment that are very difficult to relocate. Once they are in place, moving them is virtually out of the question. In addition to the permanent nature of the equipment, the park must get approval prior to construction from over a dozen government agencies. In general, a lot of time and effort goes into the planning and construction of the parks, so in order to be worthwhile, the turbines need to be up in the air spinning for a number of years.

Q - How long will it take before you put up the turbines?
A – Normally the developer needs six months to a year’s worth of data from a meteorological tower in very close proximity to where the park will be constructed. If, after that time has passed, the wind data look favorable, construction can then begin on the turbines.

Q - Will my taxes go up if these turbines are placed on my land?
A - Installing a wind turbine may increase the property value of the land, because turbines produce long-term income. The land-lease agreement has a provision stating that the wind developer will cover any increase in the landowner’s property tax due to the construction of the turbine.

Q – How do we get started?
A – The first step in the process is getting the lease option from the landowner. This gives the developer the right to put up a meteorological tower and begin assessing the wind production capability of the land. Again, this first step only requires the landowner to sign the option, not the entire lease. If the wind conditions look favorable for a park after the meteorological tower has been up for a while, then the developer will need signatures on the actual lease to begin construction.