In this chapter:
(a) "Administrator" means the City of Bedford Building Commissioner.
(b) "Ambient Sound Level" means the amount of background noise at a given location prior to the installation of a SWET which may include, but is not limited to, traffic, machinery, lawnmowers, human activity and the interaction of the wind with the landscape. The ambient sound level is measured on the dB(A) weighted scale as defined by the American National Standards Institute.
(c) "Anemometer" means the temporary wind speed indicator constructed for the purposes of analyzing the potential for utilizing a wind energy turbine at a given site. This includes the tower, base plate, anchors, cables and hardware, wind direction vanes, booms to hold equipment, data logger, instrument wiring, and any telemetry devices that are used to monitor or transmit wind speed and wind flow characteristics over a period of time for either instantaneous wind information or to characterize the wind resource at a given location.
(d) "Board" means the City of Bedford Planning Commission.
(e) "Decommissioning" means the process of terminating operations and completely removing a WET(s) and all related buildings, structures, foundations, access roads and equipment.
(f) "Medium Wind Energy Turbine (MWET) means a tower-mounted wind energy system that converts wind energy into electricity through the use of equipment which includes any base, blade, foundation, generator, nacelle, rotor, tower, transformer, vane, wire, inverter, batteries, or other components used in this system. The MWET has a nameplate capacity of between 31 and 250 kilowatts. The total height of the system shall not exceed 150 feet.
(g) "Meteorological Tower" (met tower) means the tower, base plate, anchors, guy cables and hardware, anemometers (wind speed indicators), wind direction vanes, booms to hold equipment, anemometers and vanes, data logger, instrument wiring, and any telemetry devices that are used to monitor or transmit wind speed and wind flow characteristics over a period of time for either instantaneous wind information or to characterize the wind resource at a given location.
(h) "Net-Metering" means the special metering and billing agreement between the utility company and their customers which facilitates the connection of renewable energy systems to the power grid.
(i) "Owner or Operator" means the individual or entity that intends to own and/or is responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the small wind energy system in accordance with this chapter.
(j) "Rotor diameter" means the cross sectional dimension of the circle swept by the rotating blades of a WET.
(k) "Shadow Flicker" means the moving shadow, created by the sun shining through the rotating blades of a WET. The amount of shadow flicker created by a WET is calculated by a computer model that takes into consideration turbine location, elevation, tree cover, location of all structures, wind activity and sunlight.
(l) "Small Wind Energy Turbine (SWET)" means a wind energy system that:
(1) Is used to generate electricity;
(2) Has a nameplate capacity of 30 kilowatts or less; and
(3) Has a total height of 100 feet or less.
NOTE: A structure-mounted WET shall have a nameplate rating not exceeding 10 kilowatts and shall not exceed a height of 15-feet measured from the highest point of the roof excluding chimneys or antennae.
(m) "Total height" means the vertical distance from ground level to the tip of a WET blade when the tip is at its highest point.
(n) "Tower" means the monopole, freestanding, or guyed structure that supports a wind energy turbine (WET).
(o) "Wind Energy Turbine" (WET) means a wind energy system that Is used to generate electricity;
NOTE: A structure-mounted WET shall have a nameplate rating not exceeding 10 kilowatts and shall not exceed a height of 15-feet measured from the highest point of the roof excluding chimneys or antennae.
(p) "Wind generator" means the portion of a WET that includes blades and associated mechanical and electrical conversion components mounted on top of the tower.
(Ord. 8759-10. Passed 11-15-10.)