Remember the old Donovan song “Catch the Wind”? It seems to have inspired several Silicon Valley residents, who want to build wind turbines on their property as a source of alternative energy. Just last month, Adobe added 20 “wind spires” to the roof of its San Jose garage, claiming that they were an architectural enhancement. Other cities and towns in the Bay Area are less accommodating.
Remember the old Donovan song “Catch the Wind“? It seems to have inspired several Silicon Valley residents, who want to build wind turbines on their property as a source of alternative energy. Just last month, Adobe added 20 “wind spires” to the roof of its San Jose garage, claiming that they were an architectural enhancement. Other cities and towns in the Bay Area are less accommodating.
The problem is that while wind is emerging as a viable alternative energy source, city ordinances have yet to catch up and determine what is—and is not—acceptable. So when Barry Porter, formerly of Sun, wanted to put a turbine on the roof of a home he built in Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, the California Coastal Commission nixed the idea, citing the aesthetics of the tower and its concern for birds and noise. County Supervisor Mark Stone, who also serves on the Coastal Commission, later said that the county didn’t want to decide what to do, so it “punted” the problem to the CCC.
In contrast, San Jose is eager to encourage the use of wind power to achieve the city’s zero emissions goal. Planning Director Joe Horwedel says that if any resident applied to add a wind turbine to their home, he would probably approve it, as long as it did not exceed the height limit for the neighborhood. On the other hand, he is facing some resistance from local residents.
Now, with wind becoming one of the fastest growing sources of energy generation in the U.S., it is probably time for local communities to decide on some guidelines for private installations.
Read more at the Business Journal.
