Residential wind turbines on path to approval in Kane County

Owners of unincorporated Kane County properties two acres or larger will have access to another source of electricity soon as new rules governing residential use of wind turbines are on track for county board approval.

The county's board's Development Committee approved the rules Tuesday, sending them to the full county board for a final vote next month.

The rules not only regulate the use of small structure and tower-mounted wind energy turbines, but promote their use as part of the county's push toward renewable energy.

The six-page ordinance covers everything from the types of soil needed to have a wind turbine to the level of noise they are allowed to produce and what colors they can be.

Perhaps the most restrictive element of the rules limits wind turbines to properties of at least two acres. One resident complained Tuesday that he'd love to install a wind turbine, but he lives on a lot that stretches only one-third of an acre.

Development Committee members agreed the regulations will be tweaked over time as issues and demand ebb and flow.

Committee Chairman Cathy Hurlbut urged members to not get too hung up on each individual case as the main mission at the moment is to provide basic guidelines keeping the county out in front of the wind energy movement.

A map of the lots of at least two acres in the county shows a moderate opportunity for residents and small businesses to adopt the wind turbines to offset some of their power use and reduce electrical costs. Hurlbut asked county staff to make the map available to anyone who wants to know where the devices might be erected.

Sheer lot size is not enough to warrant to a wind turbine. There must also be sufficient wind at the site to make the device work, further limiting the reach of the new energy sources.

The rules should receive discussion and a vote from the county board at their May 11 meeting.