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Backyard turbines advance

By CYNDY COLE
Sun Staff Reporter
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

A Coconino County commission has unanimously backed wind towers made in Flagstaff, sweeping aside concerns they would be unsightly or bothersome to neighbors.

Soon, residents of Doney Park and other county residential areas might be able to legally install wind towers from Southwest Windpower, which currently exceed county height limits by a few feet. The Board of Supervisors must ratify the planning commission's recommendation.

A handful of homeowners, including those living off the electric utility grid, have sought ways around these restrictions or just installed them without seeking permission.

Southwest Windpower is the world's largest producer of small-scale wind turbines, exporting them to more than 88 countries and selling 13,000 last year, co-founder Andy Kruse said.

But Southwest's shortest models are designed to stand at least 41.6 feet high, several feet taller than the current limit.

"This is the kind of business Flagstaff needs and wants and this is the kind of power we should be putting in," said Coconino County Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Maggie Sacher, of Marble Canyon, following the vote.

She asked about getting one for herself, to back up power that sometimes fails.

The city of Flagstaff has similar height limits that prevent the installation of the Southwest Windpower models.

Commissioners asked about the sound produced from the turbines, room required and audio impact to neighbors before approving the change.

They approved setbacks from the property line and limiting the turbines to lots of one acre and larger, in most cases.

The turbines produce about as much sound as a refrigerator.

Kruse said his models are designed to stop turning when winds reach more than 80 mph, and they are soon to be monitored remotely via Internet.

Purchase and installation costs of $12,000 could soon be halved by rebates from Arizona Public Service, he said.

At the direction of the supervisors, Coconino County planners are looking to rewrite codes to encourage adoption and use of more renewable energy, and permit more sustainability in what's built, bought and erected countywide.

A Doney Park couple building a home and seeking to make their carbon footprint as small as possible is mainly responsible for these changes.

William and Janeen Scharf live next to power poles taller than the wind turbine they want to install. Traffic from Highway 89, which borders their property, would likely be louder than the turbine.

The couple first attempted to install a wind turbine last June, and was rejected.

The Coconino County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up their request in June.

Cyndy Cole can be reached at 913-8607 or ccole@azdailysun.com.

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