![]() ![]() ![]() “There have been concerns raised by neighbors and others in the community about having them all over the hillsides, and we want to be sensitive to that,” said Conal McNamara, land-use deputy to county Supervisor Mike Antonovich. Los Angeles County officials call their ordinance a compromise between the desire to encourage alternative energy and the need to protect neighbors from unsightly views. In addition, Los Angeles County forbids placing the turbines on ridges - the best spots to generate wind power, said Supp of Southwest Windpower. The county’s restrictions are “expensive and kind of silly,” and getting a permit alone can cost $4,000 or more, said Mike Bergey, president of Bergey Windpower, a Norman, Okla., manufacturer. The ordinance also requires homeowners to post a bond to cover the cost of removing their windmills should that become necessary. Los Angeles County’s windmill ordinance, adopted last year, requires lights approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to ward off aircraft and fencing or other measures to ward off climbers. Under AB 1207, residents can erect towers at least 65 feet high on parcels of one to five acres.īut the law still gives local governments leeway to impose other restrictions. The windmill law, AB 1207, was designed to eliminate onerous local restrictions, such as the 35-foot backyard windmill height limit that was common around the state. At this point, the county has only a handful of home windmills operating. Yet windmills are cheaper, and manufacturers say there would be more turbines up and spinning were it not for bureaucratic roadblocks in Los Angeles County. Solar systems also come with fewer permit hurdles. A big reason for the disparity is that solar energy works for more homeowners in sunny California. One megawatt is enough to power about 750 homes. The Energy Commission said its incentives have helped generate less than 1 megawatt of wind energy capacity, compared with 15 megawatts of solar capacity. Still, the big picture on home wind power is small. Results vary, but Scott said his windmills have cut his family’s power bills in half. Add in tax credits, and the windmill can pay for itself in seven years, according to the commission. Home wind systems cost $5,000 to $50,000 to install, but Energy Commission rebates can trim that bill in half. Home models are usually less than half as high, with rotors under 12 feet long. These are not the giant commercial wind contraptions of the San Gorgonio Pass and other blustery areas, which soar 200-plus feet in the air and have rotor blades more than 80 feet long. The Energy Commission has been targeting homeowners across the state with slick brochures on the benefits of backyard windmills, but it has paid special attention to Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties because of strong winds (averaging 10 mph) and clusters of people with the land and money to install turbines. Much of north Los Angeles County, however, is considered prime wind-energy territory. Other places, including Orange County, don’t get enough strong wind to make turbines an issue. In fact, wind turbines are banned in several spots around the state where the population is too dense, such as San Francisco, and in environmentally sensitive areas. Los Angeles County officials say their conservative approach is appropriate because turbines must coexist with homes. “The aim is to expand the market for these. “We are concerned when any kind of unnecessary barriers are put in place for any kind of renewable energy,” said Tim Tutt, technical director of the California Energy Commission’s renewable energy program. ![]() ![]() Supp’s criticism is echoed by other companies, and although state officials say they don’t keep close tabs on local zoning laws, they hate to hear of anything that might be slowing the growth of wind power. ![]()
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