is wind energy right for your...
TRANSCRIPT
What I’ll cover• Overview of wind development
• Surveys of landownerso Individual impactso Community impacts
• What should you consider?
2
Wind Development 101• Zoning constraints
• Landowner paymentso Disturbanceo Royaltyo Participation/friendly neighbor
• Property tax paymentso ~$20M per year statewide
2016 Community Survey
• Owners of land assessed ag or residential
• 10 townships with windfarms
• 2,013 responses (53% response rate)
• Funded by C.S. Mott Foundation
2014 Farmland Survey
• All owners of land assessed ag
• 14 townships– 9 with windfarms– 5 without
• 1,210 responses (53% response rate)
• Funded by Dow Fellowship
Things to keep in mind • Not all respondents live in township
o Even if they do, some live far from turbines
• Results not weighted; more populous townships more represented
• Margin of error: ±1.5%
Overall drivers of attitudes
• Being within earshot of turbines
• Type of land owned o secondary vs. primary residence o farmland /rental property only
• Direct compensationo Some better than noneo $1,000 per year as key threshold
9
Individual‐level Impacts
40 47 38
1218
10
29 22 31
1912
21
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines create noise pollution
StronglyagreeAgree
StronglydisagreeDisagree
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
11
Individual‐level Impacts
39 46 37
1222
10
25 19 27
2414
27
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines create visual/aesthetic problems
StronglyagreeAgree
StronglydisagreeDisagree
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
12
Individual‐level Impacts
49 47 50
23 37 19
18 9 219
810
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines cause human health problems
StronglyagreeAgree
StronglydisagreeDisagree
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
13
Individual‐level Impacts
36 46 32
1019
7
30 21 33
2414
27
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines decrease nearby property values
StronglyagreeAgree
StronglydisagreeDisagree
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
14
Individual‐level Impacts
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000
Turbines
Neighbors in pool
Unpaid neighbors
Non‐windfarm
Investments over 5 years: 2009‐2013
Home Outbuildings Drainage/Irrigation Equipment
$ 193k
15
$ 187k
$ 180k
$ 449k
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
Individual‐level Impacts
80
62
64
57
Turbines
Neighbors in pool
Unpaid neighbors
Non‐windfarm
% that have farm succession plan
16
• Noise• Visual• Health• Property value• Farm income• Farm succession
Individual‐level Impacts Take‐aways
• Views on noise, visual impact, property values roughly 50/50Financial stake = rosier view
OR no financial stake = more soured view
• Most don’t see health impacts
• Having turbine on property results in additional on-farm investment, succession planning
17
Community‐level Impacts
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
18
Community‐level Impacts
15 10 176 5
7
57 54 58
21 31 18
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines create jobs
StronglyagreeAgree
StronglydisagreeDisagree
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
19
Community‐level Impacts
4 5 38 6 9
6040
67
20
32
177 17
4
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on local roads
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
20
Community‐level Impacts
2 2 23 3 3
7357
79
1829
144 10 2
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on township services
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
21
$2.630 Million to townships in
Huron County in 2015
Community‐level Impacts
2 2 24 3 4
7762
82
1526
113 7 2
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on county services
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
22
$2.749 Million to county gov’t in
Huron County in 2015
Community‐level Impacts
1 1 22 1 2
6444
70
24
35
219 19
6
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on local schools
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
23
$2.083 Million to ISD; $2.074 Million to local
schools in Huron County in 2015
Community‐level Impacts
11 7 12
19 1820
64 6563
5 9 41 1 1
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on relationships with neighbors
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
• Job creation• Roads• Township
services• County
services• Schools• Relationships
with neighbors
24
Community‐level Impacts Take‐aways
• Most see job creation (with caveat about types of jobs)
• Majority haven’t seen changes to community services, schools, or relationships with neighbors
o Tax uncertaintyo Increasing cost of services may limit visible impacts
25
Would they welcome wind development again?
• Quality of life
• Willingness to accept new turbines
26
Would they welcome wind development again?
10 8 11
1910
22
5554
55
1321
103 7 2
All Paid Unpaid
Turbines’ effect on overall quality of life in township
Greatlyimproved
Somewhatimproved
Neither
Somewhatworsened
Greatlyworsened
27
• Quality of life
• Willingness to accept new turbines
Would they welcome wind development again?
2615
30
108
1023
22
23
21
23
20
2132
18
All Paid Unpaid
Willingness to host additional turbines in your township
Stronglysupport
Somewhatsupport
Neither
Somewhatoppose
Stronglyoppose
28
• Quality of life
• Willingness to accept new turbines
How does this fit with your long‐term plan?
• If goal is for substantial residential development or growth of tourism, wind may not be right
• If goal is to sustain agriculture, wind can fit
30
The ideal zoning ordinance?
14 1131 377 8
10 827 22
222628
27
1817
24 3319 13
Unzonedtownship
1.5x height 1,000ʹ/1,320ʹ 1,320ʹ
Support/oppose additional turbines in township, by zoning setback distance
Stronglysupport
Somewhatsupport
Neither
Somewhatoppose
Stronglyoppose
31
Zoning ordinance considerations
• Setback distanceo Participating vs. non-participating landowners
• Noise limit and enforcement
• Flicker analysis
• Decommission plan/financial assurance
32
The importance of transparency
285 11
43729
56
14
11
22
1427
24
9
20
16
30
13 321
61
267 5
All Stronglyagree
Agree Disagree Stronglydisagree
“The wind project developer acted openly and transparently throughout the planning process.”
Support/oppose additional turbines in township, by agree/disagree wind developer acted transparently
Stronglysupport
Somewhatsupport
Neither
Somewhatoppose
Stronglyoppose
33
The importance of transparency
287 6
41
759
1 7
16
6
22
928
24
7
20
15
32
12 321
68
287 9
All Stronglyagree
Agree Disagree Stronglydisagree
“Local government officials’ decisions about the wind project were in the best interests of our township.”
Support/oppose additional turbines in township, by agree/disagree local officials acted in best interest
Stronglysupport
Somewhatsupport
Neither
Somewhatoppose
Stronglyoppose
34
Be ready to answer questions
• About who benefits / amount of tax revenue
• About decommissioning
35
Invite me to your township
• Grant from C.S. Mott Foundation covers my expenses—all you need to do is invite me
• Aim: to provide evidence-based account of experiences across the state
• I can give a presentation, or just answer questions
36
The CLOSUP Wind ProjectSarah Mills, Project Manager
Phone: (734) 615‐5315Email: [email protected]
Web: www.closup.umich.edu/wind