1. Lessons Learned Christopher Moore Southwest Renewable Energy Conference September 15, 2010

2. Agenda Bio Obligatory Commercial Ordinances Primary Issues Health & Safety Issues Other Issues Final Points

3. Christopher Moore 25 years developing, building and operating power plants Natural Gas, Diesel, Biomass, Wind Renewables since 2001 Amoco, Alliant, Reliant, Gamesa, small IPPs Projects in 20 states

4. Nature Energies Inc. Small firm based in Rochester, MN Develop, own, and operate Wind in MN, AZ Solar in CA, AZ Biomass in CA

5. Nature abhors a vacuum and developers abhor an ordinance? No ordinance – Great, maybe Raises the bar for subsequent applicants. A defined ordinance, while perhaps initially intimidating, provides the road map to a permit.

6. Critical Elements Primary Issues – Physical impacts for groups Health and Safety Issues – Physical impacts for individuals Other Issues – Local issues

7. Primary Issues IssueMitigation Tall structures – can be seen for miles Visual simulation, but unlikely to be persuasive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sound Modeling is good solution, but the decibel limitation required is the subjective point. I believe 50 db from source to residence is reasonable. Property ValuesNone required, study after study has shown no negative impact from wind farm installation

8. Visual Impact

9. Visual Impact - a matter of perspective

10. Sound Easily modeled Less easily described Illinois treats sound as pollution – Type of sound – Type of Source to type of Receiver – Time of day limits Best method is to visit a wind farm

11. Property Values REPP study – 2003 (repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind_online_ final.pdf )repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind_online_ final.pdf LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY Study – 2009 (eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl- 2829e.pdf )eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl- 2829e.pdf Private studies – 2004-2007, completed as part of permit hearings No negative impact on property values

12. Health and Safety Issues IssueMitigation Ice Throw This used to be the number one issue, now largely discounted. More ice drop versus throw. Shadow Flicker Modeling is a good solution and can provide a map showing the limitation of the impact. Generally, sound setbacks exceed requirements to mitigate flicker. Low Frequency Vibration AWEA with CWEA completed a study in 2009, refuted the potential for this type of impact by a wind farm (www.canwea.ca/pdf/talkwind/Wind_Turbine_S ound_and_Health_Effects.pdf )www.canwea.ca/pdf/talkwind/Wind_Turbine_S ound_and_Health_Effects.pdf Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)Largely discounted due to underground lines Fire (response)Meet with and train local response unit EMT Response (chopper)Meet with and train local response unit

13. Health and Safety Individual impacts Subjective Resonates because most Charters require the protection of the health and safety of the community. Resolution is setbacks

14. Setbacks Early development – setbacks consisted of two areas, safety zone and annoyance zone. Annoyance zone has expanded The annoyance is measured linearly, but the impact of setbacks is exponential.

15. Setbacks Map Green = Signed land Yellow = Road (500’) and Residences (1500’) Orange Line = Property line setbacks

16. Setbacks Map Total area in this example = 12 square miles Total leased area = 8 square miles (66%) Land available for siting turbines = 1.9 square miles (16%)

17. Setbacks Map Properties eliminated from potential for turbine siting.

18. Other Issues IssueMitigation Construction – dust, road repair, congestion Same as a large construction project. Survey before and repair as required. Safety standards Require adherence to national and state codes (civil, electric, OSHA…) Decommissioning Typical to provide security based on engineering evaluation of net cost (reduction for salvage value). Impacts – flora, fauna, economic As required by Federal, State, local recommendations Miscellaneous – crop dusting, FAA lights, fences… As required for local conditions These are the actual project construction standards

19. Final Points Ordinances are beneficial Group issues are what people care about Health issues are what get raised Setbacks have an exponential, not linear, impact The actual construction of the project is almost an after thought.

20. Questions Christopher Moore Nature Energies 2720 Superior Drive NW, #103 Rochester, MN 55901 chris.moore@nature-energies.us 612.749.4236