At a glance

* Turbines cannot exceed 500 feet in height and the minimum distance between turbines must be two times the total height.

* Large wind energy systems must also be at least 600 feet away from the boundaries of any wetland.

* The system must be designed "such that shadow flicker will not fall on, or in any existing occupied building."

* Shadow flicker, defined as the "on-and-off flickering effect of a shadow caused when the sun passes behind the rotor of a wind turbine," is acceptable depending on circumstances.

The ordinance allows shadow flickering as long as it doesn't exceed 10 hours per day, falls within 100 feet from an existing residence and doesn't fall on an intersection. The flickering is also permissible when traffic volume is fewer than 500 vehicles a day on a roadway.

If those conditions are not met, the system must be "shut down until the flicker is remedied," the ordinance states.

* For the smaller, on-site systems, used mainly for residential purposes, the minimum lot area must be 2.5 acres large.

* On-site turbines that sit on property that is at least 15,000 square feet but less than an acre, cannot exceed 50 feet in height. The total height cannot exceed 75 feet on property one acre large or greater.

By Jane Huh, Post-Tribune

jhuh@post-trib.com

A new energy source for Porter County is blowing in the wind.

Porter County Commissioners laid out the welcome mat for alternative energy projects when they approved two amendments to the county's unified development ordinance last month.

The new set of standards specifically addresses wind energy conversion systems like the one developing in the southeast part of the county.

The LaCrosse Wind Farm project, which straddles Porter and LaPorte counties, initiated the regulations on wind turbines.

"By having an ordinance in place, we'll know how to deal with (large wind energy farms)," said Bob Thompson, executive director of the Porter County Plan Commission.

But ultimately, "it's up to (the companies to decide) if it's profitable for them to develop this in the county," Thompson said.

TradeWind Energy, an energy development company based in Lenexa, Kan., has been plugging away to secure agreements with local landowners for a potential wind turbine farm in Pleasant Township.

Landing contracts for financing, gathering meteorological research and acquiring more land are under way to "set the stage for a sale," said Duane Enger, project manager.

TradeWind Energy is looking at just under 30,000 acres of land to lease, he said.

"The turbines have to be in an area contiguous to the project for us to lease their ground and generate revenue stream."

Enger expects the project to "come to fruition in three to five years."

"Right now, we're getting the front-end work completed," he said.

The amendments outline parameters for large industrial wind farms and on-site residential wind energy systems.

Among the general requirements, large wind energy conversion systems must meet particular standards of height, appearance, clearance, lighting and noise.

All wind energy conversion systems must be "of uniform design, including tower type, color, number of blades, and direction of blade rotation," the ordinance states.

Wind energy technology is already established in Benton County with its Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Earl Park.

The wind farm, which became operational earlier this spring, is under way with a project to bolster its capacity to 600 megawatts and become the largest wind farm in the Midwest.
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