Bethany Beach Planning Commissioners set the stage on Aug. 16 for potential future changes to the town code and new initiatives in the town that would help it become more “green.” They took a substantial portion of their monthly meeting for discussion of strategies that would involve alternative and renewable energy sources that are used in the town now or might be in the future.
The issue, while already on the commission’s long-term agenda, was tackled at the recent direction of the town council — a resolution that itself came at the request of Council Member Bob Parsons. Parsons hopes to install a combination of solar and wind energy features on his own home in the coming months.
Parsons has said he believes property owners will be much more likely to choose wind energy installations, in particular, if the town makes accommodations for the estimated 8 to 10 feet of clearance a horizontal wind turbine would require above the roof for a residential installation.
For his part, Parsons is pursuing installation of two 8-foot-tall, 350-pound units on his own roof, along with solar panels. He has also pointed out that seasonal residences could potentially reach net-zero power needs if renewable power sources installed on them run year-round while the homes are occupied only during the summer. With that potential in mind, Parsons could be one of many home owners with visions of turbines dancing over their roofs.
But building height has been a sensitive issue in the town, with the repeal in 2006 of an ordinance that aimed to give home owners some flexibility in roof height to accommodate steeper roof pitch. Even the perception of permitting additional roof height about the existing 31-foot height limit led to vociferous opposition and eventually to the repeal, less than six months after the ordinance was adopted.
While Parsons — and the council in its directive to the planning commission — emphasized the need for urgent action on the issue out of concern for the possible near-future loss of existing state and federal rebates for installation of such green power sources by property owners, commissioners on Aug. 16 said they planned not to rush forward with their discussion or any legislation, citing the ability for Parsons, and others, to seek a variance for such installations until the time formal legislation can be adopted.
“I was told there was always money left over,” reported Commissioner Kathleen Mink of conversations with state officials who oversee the awarding of rebates.
“I understand he’s in a hurry to do this, but there are avenues for him to pursue,” added Chairman Lew Killmer.
The primary avenue for Parsons — and other home owners — is the town’s Board of Adjustments, which can grant variances from town code for unique circumstances, on a case-by-case basis.
Parsons is well familiar with that process, being the long-time chairman of the BoA. Appealing to the BoA would, as commissioners noted on Aug. 16, pose some issues for Parsons, since he would likely have his case heard by only the other two commissioners and would have to recuse himself from the case.
“That could be interesting,” Killmer commented Aug. 16.
“I know he wanted this done rapidly. But I told the town council we would do due diligence, that we will take the time to do this properly,” Killmer added.
“They were aware the planning commission was working on the issue,” said Vice-Mayor and Council Liaison Tony McClenny. “And I couldn’t approve something like that until I personally saw and heard one.”
That was one recommendation from the Aug. 16 discussion — that planning commissioners, and even town council members, take a field trip to see the installation of a residential wind turbine.
Commissioner Fulton Loppatto said he had made arrangement with local installer Flexera — one of two state-approved installers for purposes of those rebates — to be notified when their next installation in the area was to happen, so that commissioners could see the product in action. The company currently has no such installations in “urban” areas of Sussex County, Loppatto said.
Research raises many considerations
Loppatto, who has been doing research for a possible “green” initiative in the town, noted that a horizontal “collector” of a typical residential design can be expected to produce about 8 percent of the energy needs of an average home, with an average-sized home generally able to support two such units on its roof.
“With two on every roof, it would look like Star Wars,” Killmer said with some skepticism.
“It may come to that, folks,” McClenny replied, reflecting the increasing trend nationwide toward renewable energy on a residential scale.
A horizontal collector differs from traditional “vertical” turbines in that they typically resemble an open-sided drum inside which a turbine system rotates along a top-to-bottom axis, rather than a fan on a forward-facing spindle. The horizontal design reduces the size of turbine needed to a scale more compatible with a residential installation.
Loppatto noted, however, that inland Delaware is not considered a particularly strong area for wind-power generation, only being listed as “average” for both solar and wind potential.
“The wind in Delaware is offshore,” he said, pointing out that the potential in Bethany Beach itself is just considered fair to marginal. Manufacturers largely aim for 10 mph wind speeds to gain power generation, while 24 mph sustains power generation over time.
Despite that, Loppatto said, wind power has been increasing in popularity in recent years, with a jump of 46 percent in wind installations from 2006 to 2007. Wind power accounts for about 5 percent of the energy generated in the U.S., while solar lags behind at about 1 percent, largely due to the higher costs of installation.
“Solar power is not cheap,” he said, pointing to an average cost of $9 per watt when installation and maintenance costs are considered. That cost is just $3.50 per watt for wind power.
Despite that difference, Delaware has 13 state-approved solar-power contractors, for rebate purposes, compared to just two for wind power.
On Aug. 16, Loppatto noted a number of factors the town is likely to want to consider when creating code regarding “green” energy such as residential turbines. Among those are: height (especially a concern with wind, as Parsons’ request suggests) and width of units; safety (Loppatto noted that some utilities require $1 million in insurance before a residential wind turbine can be hooked into a household electrical system that connects to the “grid”); and the impact of hurricanes and high winds.
Another factor is noise, which has been a concern for some neighbors in installations done elsewhere in Sussex County. But Loppatto said the noise from a wind turbine is roughly as loud as the hum coming from a refrigerator. Still, commissioners favored a field trip to hear that noise for themselves.
Also on the list of factors for possible legislative consideration were the number of units that might be permitted per home (dealing with possible visual interference and the visual aesthetic); rules for placement of units; environmental factors (such as necessitating the cutting of trees for an installation); whether to permit both passive and active systems; whether to only permit installations by public utilities or only private ones; and whether to put in place different rules for different districts in the town.
Killmer said he was also concerned that the town ensure that spinning turbines would not be “causing a strobing effect” from reflection or filtering of other light sources, possibly causing health issues for those sensitive to light.
The forest and the trees
Loppatto, who researched a wide range of information on alternative and renewable energy sources for the commission’s initiative, said that from all of his research on, he was most convinced that bio-fuel was “going to take off,” along with fuel cells.
He also pointed to advances with hydro-electric power, which is now being used in a pilot project at the Indian River Power Plant and accounts for 36 percent of the nation’s renewable energy production. Tidal power generation has been a topic in coastal Delaware, though the Indian River project is the only major one currently active in the area.
Geothermal power is also increasingly common in residential use, being one of the most common “green” energy technologies already being used in Bethany Beach, where it has been used in a handful of home heating installations.
Looking at the wide range of issues involved in the “green” issue as a whole, Loppatto said his aim was to “get an idea what we want to focus on.”
Killmer said he was particularly concerned the commission would get lost in magnitude of the issue. He said they should avoid focusing on the bigger picture and instead focus on issues critical to ensuring installations of alternative and renewable energy projects are done properly and meet established guidelines in the industry.
Commissioner Don Doyle agreed, saying he was more concerned with how the town would regulate such energy sources, rather than ways in which the town itself could become more green.
“I don’t want the Planning Commission to be in the position of encouraging people to do this,” he said. “We should be setting regulations for how they do it.”
Loppatto said he expected the commission to get into those “larger issues” when and if the town starts to discuss its own foray into “green” energy. Already the town has begun exploration of a possible solar power installation at town hall, with an $85,000 cost estimate received. Loppatto said he believes that the town could probably get wind or solar power for town buildings fully funded through grants.
“It would behoove us to look at this and begin bringing it into our building codes,” said McClenny.
Building Inspector John Eckrich noted that the International Building Code, which is already the basis for the town’s most recent building guidelines, has begun bringing green technology issues into its guidelines, including the recommendation for building inspectors to become certified in green building.
Dealing with the issue of the town providing information to property owners about green technology, Killmer said he felt such information is already available and that the town should not work to develop its own information to make available.
“We should have something in place to ensure these green energy elements are done properly — such as creating a set of ordinances and guidelines for green remodels or new construction,” he said. “Legislation already exists regarding weight loads for solar panels, etc. We can follow up on that.”
Loppatto said the town may want to ask wind-farm developers BlueWater Wind if the town want to consider developing power source for own use, to explore areas such as the process, costs, etc. McClenny also pointed to local business owner and developer Bob Thornton as another resource. Thornton’s SilverWoods development includes a home that was recently the first in the nation to be certified “gold” under the NAHB National Green Program.
Geothermal, solar first on green agenda
Killmer said Aug. 16 that he preferred the commission, at least for the moment, to focus on developing protocols for people who want to incorporate known technology that exists right now, rather than looking off to the horizon with the issue.
He particularly pointed to geothermal and solar installations as subjects that would require the least research by the town but also be most useful as technologies that are in more common use. Two solar installations are already in place in the town, in addition to some previous installations of passive solar technology.
Eckrich noted that the town has had no problem with geothermal installations to date. The only concern with those installations has been the need for the town to sign off on permits for the associated wells, since the town owns the water rights within its limits. Geothermal systems are now estimated to recoup their costs in just three to four years, he noted.
Killmer said he would like the town to look at whether to permit geothermal systems that use ethylene glycol as a carrier. The common anti-freeze chemical is a poison and could potentially be carried into the town’s soil and groundwater supply in the case of a leak, he said.
“We need to address things that are creeping in on us or are already here, first,” said Doyle.
“We should focus on the technology available today and, as others come in and become financially viable, look at those,” agreed Killmer.
Commissioner Faith Denault said she thought the commission should also look at how the town is making its decisions on vehicle purchases, perhaps with an eye toward converting town vehicles to alternative fuels at the end of the existing vehicles’ lives.
Killmer noted that the federal government is already looking to convert its vehicles to natural gas. And Doyle pointed out that one town council member had insisted on a diesel engine in the newer town trolley, with an eye toward possibly running it on bio-fuel someday.
Doyle also pointed out that the town can be looking at energy efficiency as another part of its green initiative, aiming to replace any less efficient light bulbs, for example.
As part of their green initiative, Loppatto said that he would also like to look for a University of Delaware graduate student who might be willing to take on the town’s green effort as a thesis project, providing the town with expertise without the costs involved in hiring a consultant, much as was done by University of Maryland architecture graduate students in recent years.
Those are elements that are likely to play out in the coming months and years. Meanwhile, it is likely that people like Parsons will be making their way to the town’s Board of Adjustments to request some additional leeway on height regulations to permit them to implement wind power on their homes.
That issue holds enough complexity that a town ordinance on the subject could be on the horizon about the same time that large-scale wind turbines can be seen rising off the coast of Rehoboth Beach.