Wind turbines in neighborhoods? Cedar Rapids plans raise questions

Dan Massman, part owner of Smith Massman Landscaping and Design Co, said the 51-foot-tall wind turbine at his tree farm in Benton County is proof that the future can arrive today.

The wind turbine, Massman said, provides his home and farm with part of its electrical needs, works as quietly as a gentle wind and gives him the satisfaction of having to rely much less on the traditional energy sources that the nation and world are trying to step away from. It is kind of cutting edge, too, he said.

“It's getting more and more popular,” said Massman. “And I guess I'd like to be toward the top of that.”

The neighbors along and near the 2300 block of Johnson Avenue NW in Cedar Rapids don't doubt Massman's experience out in the country one bit. They're all for wind turbines and renewable energy, the cutting edge and the cool.

But the question remains: However fashionable, is a small-scale wind turbine, which may be only a seventh or an eighth of the height of the wind-catching behemoths that populate rural wind farms in Iowa, suitable for a residential neighborhood in a city like Cedar Rapids?

Such is the debate that is now playing out at City Hall in Cedar Rapids where the City Council in August passed a new wind turbine ordinance that spells out rules for both smaller and larger wind turbines. In each case, the owner must first secure a conditional-use permit, a task that requires a review from the City Planning Commission and approval from the city's Board of Adjustment.

The first case under the city's new ordinance is not an easy call.

The Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Electrical Training Center, 2300 Johnson Ave. NW, lost its first attempt to secure a conditional-use permit in November on a 2-2 vote of the Board of Adjustment. The board declined to approve the permit after a strong objection from neighbors, who say the center's plan for three small turbines would harm the residential character of the neighborhood.

In hopes of winning board approval, Mike Carson, director of the training center, now has scaled back the center's plans and is proposing to put up two, 37-foot-tall turbines, but not the 61-foot-tall one that was in his initial proposal. The matter will come back around for City Hall consideration next year.

Misconceptions seen

Gary Carleton, chief operating and chief financial officer at turbine dealer FreeWind in Cedar Rapids, said the training center's uphill battle is proof that the spread of small wind turbines into the residential areas of cities like Cedar Rapids will need more public education before it happens in any significant way.

“There are a lot of misconceptions,” said Carleton. “These aren't the big megawatt turbines that people are used to seeing on the news and that they see driving down the highway.”

He compares the decibel level of small wind turbines to cars driving by on a road or people having a conversation, and he said the turbine towers are sturdier than trees and utility poles. Ordinances require fall zones greater than the height of the tower, he adds.

The fall-zone requirement, Carleton said, will effectively rule out wind turbines in a city's more tightly packed residential neighborhoods, and he suspects that wind turbines are likely to go up in Cedar Rapids more in commercial and industrial zones before they find more of a home in large-lot residential neighborhoods.

Kirkwood Community College, he notes, has plans to install a large turbine on its sprawling campus. Wind turbines are in place on the campuses of the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa.

Carleton said FreeWind just installed a turbine last week behind a machine shed at a home with a large lot on the edge of Walford.

Return on investment

Brandon Yoder, the owner of upstart renewable energy firm Green Transitions in Cedar Rapids, has installed three small wind turbines in the last year and a half, one in rural Alburnett and two near Spirit Lake. He said Cedar Rapids residents have inquired about small wind turbines, but two factors have prevented any sales - bad locations with inadequate wind and/or the upfront cost of the turbines.

“Turbines are real sexy,” said Yoder. “But mostly it depends on the return on investment.”

Carleton said a 60-foot turbine like the one IBEW Local 405 had wanted to install at its training center on Johnson Avenue NW costs about $20,000, with the owner able to qualify for a 30-percent tax credit. The investment, he said, typically can be recouped in eight to 10 years.

Massman, who has good access to dependable wind at his tree farm in Benton County, figures he might recoup his initial investment within eight years, though factored into that he said is the ability to write off some of the cost as a business expense. Yoder said a payback period might be up to 15 years in some instances.

In the near term, Yoder thinks that the best opportunities for the wind industry will come in commercial and industrial zones of cities where companies that use a lot of power will be able to make their own power with the wind. Even so, he said small wind turbines also will work in some residential spots, and he suggests this for neighbors who are quick to object:

“People should go out and stand next to one and experience it for themselves,” Yoder recommends. “Then people can make an educated decision about what they don't want.”