Wind Energy Conversion Systems Ordinance – Mason County, Ky. 

Definitions:

Industrial Scale WECS: A Wind Energy Conversion System constructed on the property ofanother by a company or corporation or other entity, whose general intent is to capture wind energy and place it on the electrical grid for resale to a public utility or other energy marketer.

Mid-Scale WECS: A Wind Energy Conversion System with a generating capacity up to 50 Kw, the installation intended to collect wind energy for the purpose ofsupplying energy to the owners and shall not entail net metering. Mid-Scale WECS are considered a non-residential accessory use.

Small-Scale WECS: A Wind Energy Conversion System designed to provide power to a home or other local site for use by the owner. Small-Scale WECS may have a generating capacity of up to 5 Kw and shall not entail net-metering capability. Small-scale WECS are considered non-residential accessory structures.

DISTRICT REGULATIONS

Location. Industrial scale WECS are permitted only in districts [zoned for industry] as specified in Chapter 406, Land Use Classification and Designation.

SETBACK REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Setback Distances for INDUSTRIAL SCALE WECS TOWERS.

Distance from a …

• Property line, measured from the center of the WECS Tower to the property line
• Residential dwellings, regularly occupied industrial or institutional buildings, measured from the center of the WECS Tower to the nearest comer of the structure
• Public road right-of-way measured from the centerofthe WECS Tower to the edge ofthe right-of-way
• Other rights-of-way, such as railroads and public utility easements, measured from the center of WECS Tower to the edge of the right-of-way
• Public conservation lands, measured from the center ofthe WECS Tower to the nearest point of the public conservation land in question
• Rural Residential Districts and Communities measured from the WECS Tower to the Rural Residential District Line
• Incorporated limits ofa municipality and County boundary, as measured from the center ofthe WECS Tower to the corporate limits or County boundary
• Wetlands, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, measured from the center of the WECS Tower to the nearest point ofthe Wetland in question
• Above-ground electric transmission or distribution line, measured from the nearest horizontal extension

… One Mile, (5,280 Feet)

Industrial scale WECS’s ancillary structures such as substations and maintenance and operation facilities are considered principle structures and subject to principle structure setbacks unless otherwise specified herein or if specifically identified as an accessory structure.

Shadow Flicker

Flicker which results from the passage of the blades of a rotating wind turbine between the sun and any occupied structure shall be limited to the following:

1. No more than 30 minutes a day.
2. No more than 30 hours a year.

Noise and Vibration

No turbine shall be located so as to create a decibel level greater than 30 dBa at the property line of the parcel in which the turbine is located and also less than 50 dB(C) at the property lines of the parcel in which the turbine is located.

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