Wind entrepreneur appeals for DE requirement reductions

Wind-power entrepreneur appeals for reduction in requirements

Local News Sussex County
Date Published: August 12, 2011
By M. Patricia Titus
News Editor
It’s not often that a business entrepreneur coming before Sussex County Council to request an ordinance change gets a round of applause from those attending the council meeting, but Michael Panco got just that this week after he asked the council to consider reducing the 5-acre minimum lot size it currently requires for the installation of wind-power turbines.

Panco, who lives in the Fenwick Island area and operates one of two bases for his Ultra Solar and Wind Solutions LLC (ultrasolarandwind.com) from there, told the council that the company offers “the only silent and bird-friendly turbine” available at present – a product he said “won’t make anyone angry” and therefore something for which a setback of 1.5 times the height would suffice.

The county currently requires a minimum 5-acre lot size for wind turbines – a requirement that had frequently been waived after Board of Adjustments hearings, until new state law that was meant to prevent local governments from regulating wind turbines to the point where they couldn’t feasibly be installed was adopted.

The county interpreted the law as maintaining the existing minimum lot size but eliminating the process by which property owners could appeal for a variance, leaving would-be turbine owners and installers without a mechanism for approval on residential-sized lots. That has been the case for more than a year, with the county insisting the ball is in state lawmakers’ courts, pending a change that would remove the “unintended consequences” of the new state law.

But Panco said his wind turbines are of a type that would eliminate the concerns that had previously limited installations to larger parcels with neighbors at a considerable distance.

His “Marilyn” system – named for Marilyn Monroe and the classic image of her upblown skirts – he said, is the only vertical- or horizontal-axis wind turbine in the world, and is small enough that he brought it into the council chambers with him. Tested in a University of Maryland wind tunnel, Panco said, the turbine was found to be “completely silent.”

“It doesn’t have any decibel problems,” he asserted, noting that it is also UNESCO worldwide reserve-certified for its lack of impact.

Along with a 6-by-6-foot residential-size turbine – both of which Panco said he is trying to have produced in Delaware – the turbines can work in winds as slow as 7 mph and do not have to be mounted on a pole.

“They’re scalable, silent and won’t make anyone angry,” he said. “I don’t think we need 5 acres for this device.”

Panco said he had hoped to install the 6-by-6-foot turbine at his mother’s home near Fenwick Island, as it stands less than 13 feet tall on its short tower, makes no noise and fits within setback requirements. But, he said, “The county said no in writing, because you still have an ordinance that says 5 acres.”

“We live in a place where there’s plenty of renewable energy over our heads every day,” Panco said, “but we’re still at the mercy of the power company. We can make our power on top of our house at low wind speeds, and it won’t make anyone angry.”

Concerns about noise generated by turbines have been a focus wherever they have been proposed, but Panco said his designs – to which he said he holds the patent – are truly silent.

“There’s no blade at all. That’s why it’s silent,” he said, also noting that the turbines are omnidirectional.

“It doesn’t matter where the wind is coming from. It doesn’t have to face into the wind, ever.” He said the turbines can produce up to 3.3 kilowatts of power in maximum winds, while the 7 mph minimum wind will produce 500 watts. It also can’t be overpowered by the high winds of the coastal area, Panco noted, saying it was the only self-braking model available and has a terminal velocity (top speed) of 35 mph before it will begin to slow itself to that cap.

Panco said the turbines can be put anywhere – ground-mounted or roof-mounted, and sized for residential use.

“I’m trying to show – I was born and raised in Sussex County. It’s where I live now. We have a great amount of energy – both solar and wind – and we have a way to capture the wind without bothering anybody,” he said, noting that some turbines already erected within town limits or through previous county variances can’t boast the small, unobtrusive size and silent operation of his models but were still permitted.

“How can that get in, but my mother can’t?” he asked. Asked what he would recommend as a minimum setback for turbines such as his, Panco said he would recommend 1.5 times the tower height.

“The problem with an ordinance is that it won’t say just that type,” replied Councilman George Cole. “Some could be noisy and some not.”

But Cole, as with many in attendance at Tuesday’s council meeting, showed considerable interest in and support for the local business.

“Have you talked to our economic development people?” he asked Panco. “If everything you say is true,” he added, “this is a great product.”

Panco then received a hefty round of applause, though he garnered no immediate promises of further consideration of changing the county’s minimum lot size for turbines such as the ones he hopes to produce in Delaware.