Date: 1/25/2012

Source: National Regulatory Research Institute

2:00-3:30 p.m. EST
In the U.S. and around the world, the siting of utility-scale wind turbines and wind parks requires careful planning and management of both the benefits to and impact on the many nearby stakeholders to ensure that the project is accepted by the host community.

Responsibility for wind-siting and -zoning approvals varies by state. In seven states, public utility commissions have that authority. Sixteen states empower other agencies, but commissions are still responsible for deciding whether new wind generators should get certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCN). Even in states where public utility commissions have no direct responsibility for wind-park siting or approval, there is still a potential need for state jurisdictional grid interconnections and transmission-siting decisions for new wind-park developments.

The National Regulatory Research Institute has gathered a panel of experts who will provide state-of-the-art knowledge on some of the most critical issues in wind siting and zoning today, including sound and low-frequency infrasound, wildlife effects and mitigation, and the impact on property values.

Listen as industry experts review some of the myths about wind power and wind parks and provide the most current thinking on these important issues. If you're concerned about how utilities will meet renewable portfolio standards at the lowest reasonable cost, you need to understand how wind siting and zoning practices translate into resource-development decisions.

Here are just some of the questions you will get answers to when you register to attend this in-depth 90-minute teleseminar:

• How do wind parks affect natural habitats and wildlife?
• What are the best practices for:
  • Pre- and post-siting construction and operations to monitor wildlife and habitat?
  • Avoiding and, if necessary, mitigating habitat and wildlife problems?
  • Wind-park operations to minimize negative effects on habitat and wildlife?
• Why won't typical protocols for measuring sound work for wind parks, and what techniques should be used instead for:
  • Assessing sound emissions from proposed wind parks?
  • Measuring sound at existing wind parks?
• What mitigation strategies can help resolve wind-park noise complaints?
• How do wind parks affect property values?
• How can good siting practices help avoid problems?
• How can siting procedures best meet the needs of host communities?
• What are the best wind-siting principles and practices from other states?

Speakers

David M. Hessler, P.E., principal, Hessler Associates, Inc. and member, Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) and National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC)
Ben Hoen, principal research associate, Electricity Markets and Policy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Taber Allison, director of research and evaluation, American Wind Wildlife Institute
Tom Stanton (moderator), principal for electricity, National Regulatory Research Institute

Additional speakers to be announced.

For more information and to register, visit the National Regulatory Research Institute website.

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