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City staff along with Metro Wind held a meeting at the proposed wind generator site with <br /> adjacent property owners on July 25, 2000. Issues and concerns raised at this meeting <br /> III include: <br /> Noise—The new generation of wind turbines are relatively quiet. The noise <br /> generated is proportionate to the speed of wind. The wind tends to mask the <br /> sound of the wind turbine. <br /> Birds—Groups like the Audobon Society have expressed concerns regarding the <br /> effects of wind generators on birds. It is staff's understanding that this concern <br /> originated when wind turbines were placed on top of grid type towers. Pigeons <br /> and other birds would use these structures to nest and raptors would dive in to <br /> catch them and be hit by the wind turbine's blades. Metro Wind's propose wind <br /> turbine will set on top of a monopole, eliminating any nesting areas. <br /> Property Values—This is always a hard issue to talk definitively about. All <br /> property values in Elk River, no matter what is in the general area, have been <br /> increasing significantly. Small single-family lots with city sewer that are <br /> adjacent to structures similar to the wind turbine, water towers, have not had their <br /> property values suffer. The area where the wind turbine is proposed is quit rural, <br /> so it should be even less of a factor than a water tower in the urban area of the <br /> city. <br /> Safety—One safety issue that was not brought up in Metro Wind's narrative is <br /> the issue of the wind turbine collapsing. The wind turbine's tower is design to <br /> III <br /> collapse onto itself, not tip over. <br /> Energy City <br /> As you are probably aware, the City of Elk River has been designated as Energy City by <br /> Minnesota's energy industries. Energy City was created to act as a geographical focal <br /> point for demonstrating renewable energy and energy efficient technologies, services, and <br /> products. Metro Wind is a significant partner in Energy City. By choosing Elk River to <br /> locate a wind turbine they hope to demonstrate that, even on the low end of the <br /> commercial wind resource, wind power can still make economic sense. <br /> Diversifying our sources of energy is an important push by both the Minnesota <br /> Department of Commerce and the US Department of Energy. Wind is a clean logical <br /> source of energy. <br /> Recommendation <br /> Staff recommends approval of Metro Wind's request, conditioned on the wind turbine <br /> and associated facilities being constructed as presented in their application. <br /> III <br />