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November 13, 2009

Deadline looms for BATA wind grant

Busing authority has until Feb. 1 to ink contract

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Bay Area Transportation Authority faces a time crunch to save an energy-generating wind turbine project and a 4-year-old, $600,000 federal grant to pay for it.

BATA needs to have a wind energy project along M-72 under contract by Feb. 1, and spend the grant by Sept. 30, 2010. If not, the public transportation agency's money will take wing.

And birds may play a role in meeting those deadlines.

Tom Menzel, BATA's executive director, said he'll ask Long Lake Township officials to reconsider a requirement that a migratory bird study be conducted before a zoning permit can be issued.

"The bird requirement might hold us up, because they don't migrate until April and May," Menzel said. "My hope is the township wouldn't let that requirement block the project and we lose it."

Township Planner Leslie Sickerterman said BATA will need to hire a qualified biologist to score a number of factors such as geology, wind currents, bird species and historical migration patterns to determine the potential impacts.

If the initial study indicates a turbine won't disrupt migrations, BATA likely won't have to do a more detailed review, she said.

"The regulations are not that crystal clear, but I don't see anything that says we have to actually count birds," Sickterman said. "But it may eventually come to that."

Cash-strapped BATA wants to hold on to a $4.7 million, 2005 federal grant that primarily was for hybrid buses and a wind turbine to power them. BATA purchased just one hybrid bus since it secured the grant and won't take delivery of a second prototype until March. The remaining five buses, which cost $426,000 each, will follow if the prototype is acceptable.

The wind turbine project sat on a back-burner for four years because no BATA personnel took ownership and pushed the project, Menzel said.

Menzel, who took over the BATA wheel in May, began a search to find a wind turbine site several months ago.

The project gained new urgency early this month, when the Michigan Department of Transportation notified transit agencies of new spending deadlines to close out 15 overdue federal grant projects.

BATA's proposed turbine would be about a mile west of Traverse City Light & Power's temporarily idled turbine on M-72 and Bugai Road. The BATA turbine would be about half the size of Light & Power's, and would generate about 570,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year that would be worth $35,000 or more.

"I'm working pretty aggressively to get this moving." Menzel said. "We're going to be losing revenue from the state on a regular basis in the future and we need to do whatever we can to bring some money in to offset our other costs."

Menzel also needs to negotiate contracts with Light & Power to purchase the power, maintain the turbine, and build it on Light & Power-controlled property.

Ed Rice, Light & Power's executive director, said his board supports the project and he doesn't expect problems completing the contracts. Rice said the site doesn't have enough wind for utility-sized turbines but should work well for BATA's purposes.

Long Lake Township previously approved the site for two turbines, but under a less-restrictive ordinance, Sickterman said. The current ordinance requires a study of noise, shadows created by turbine blades and bird migration.

Steve Smiley, BATA's wind energy consultant, said study requirements for one turbine are time-consuming and expensive.

"There ought to be some discretion in the township zoning, depending on the nature and scope of a project," he said.

Sickterman said the township is rewriting its zoning ordinance and is willing to take another look at requirements that are inconsistent with state guidelines.

"The township doesn't want to be in the position where we are the ones holding something up," Sickterman said.

Menzel remains optimistic he'll be able to move the project far enough along by the deadlines to keep the project alive.

"I think we can get it done if everyone understands it's a collaborative partnership that brings value to everyone involved," Menzel said.

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