Earn substantial Long Term Income from providing Land for Wind Turbine Operators.
Landowners have an opportunity to earn additional income from providing land for the installation and operation of Wind turbines. For each turbine a landowner allows to be installed and operated on their land, additional income can be generated. A single Wind Turbine up to a full-scale Wind Farm can provide landowners with a regular income, for no additional labour or expense, usually for a period of 25 years.
MWPS World would like to hear from farmers, community groups, councils and major corporations that would like to earn additional income through generating clean sustainable energy on their land.
Farmers
Work on land has become increasingly difficult over recent years and even more so to generate income from land. Many farmers are faced with the fact with the need to diversify but what can be done and how to diversify? Lease out your land to Wind Turbine operators! Very little room is taken up by the turbine bases, so the little impact is made to your usable land.
If interested, you might be looking for answers to the following questions:
• How noisy are wind turbines?
• What is the visual impact?
• Will the community benefit?
• How will the value of my land be affected?
• How much land is required?
• What agreements need to be made?
• What are the impacts during construction?
• How is farming impacted after installation?
Please read on, here are the answers for you:
How noisy are wind turbines?
It can not be denied that wind turbines do make noise, but they are much quieter than most people would think. You can have a normal conversation at the base of a turbine without the need to raise your voice even if the turbine is running at maximum power.
As the blades are rotating, one can hear a smooth swooshing sound. Nothing really disturbing. Sometimes when standing close to the tower, the actions and movement of the gearbox and generator may also be faintly audible. It is also true that a turbine’s audibility increases with wind speed but the wind’s background noise rises more quickly and masks the noise from the wind turbines. Here a few references points for comparison:
What is the visual impact?
Wind farms are always sensitively designed and appropriately sited to ensure a minimal visual impact on the surrounding area. Consultation with the local community is a high priority so everyone involved in a project becomes aware of highly valued areas. Usually, photomontages are created to demonstrate what the wind farm will look like from different locations. This is an essential process which allows the community to assess the visual impact of the wind farm before any construction takes place.
How will the value of my land be affected?
Various studies have been carried out throughout the world and all have found that there has been no significant impact on both the land containing a wind turbine or on land with views of the turbines.
There are usually local concerns that the noise and visual impact of the turbines will reduce the value of the land. Experience shows that these concerns fade with time once the wind farm is established and its impact has been observed by locals. In some areas, it has even been shown to have a positive effect on land value.
Will the community benefit?
Working closely with communities is crucial to impart an understanding of the need for wind farms as well as discussing the potential effects that the wind farm may have on the local environment. Public communication plans should be set up so that all issues relating to such a new development can be addressed in a structured manner over the duration of the project.
Additionally, community enhancement fund can be created as an incentive which would provide an economic boost to the local community. This can range from providing for a new ambulance vehicle, refurbishing the local elderly home, or any other community-related project that is agreed upon between the developer and the community. How much land is required? Turbines do not take up very much land as the tower has only got a diameter of only approximately 4-5 meters at the base and can be easily positioned to minimise any interference with ploughing or any other activities when working the land. Most machines with large blade length can be accommodated on a stretch of a roughly 1km straight line. In practice terrain, wind directions play a major role in determining preferred turbine locations and the positioning can differ to the usual straight-line arrangement.
Access tracks to the turbines are usually made of gravel, and need to be between 6 and 12 metres wide during construction. Electrical cabling between the turbines is almost always underground and usually alongside the access tracks within the wind farm. In most cases, a single substation will be required. For a small wind farm, this may be contained within a small building and for larger developments, a plot of land of approximately one hectare will be required to contain the electrical plant. Electrical connection to an existing grid is normally done by a three-phase power line mounted on poles.
Noise regulations usually have an effect and dictate the positioning of wind power turbines relative to residences. Minimum spacing between turbines and nearby residences vary, but as a general guide, distances from associated dwellings should be around 750m to 1,000m. A distance of 1,000m to 1,500m should be maintained from dwellings not associated with the development.
What agreements need to be made?
Payments can be arranged to landowners at every stage of the development. Initial Licence agreements cover a minimum of a period of up to 5 years for which fixed annual payments are made to the landowner. A Licence permits the developer to undertake activities on the land (such as wind monitoring and ecological surveys). A Lease agreement will be signed between the parties which set out the responsibilities and obligations of both parties over the life of a wind farm project.
It is important to note that the landowners’ obligations will need to be transferable to any future purchaser of the land/property involved. By the time the Lease agreement is ready to sign, preliminary wind farm layouts will have to be provided which will outline where and how many turbines are being proposed. This is important as payment terms are offered on a per turbine basis to the landowner.
What are the impacts during construction?
Construction times depend on the size of the wind farm project. There can be relatively high impacts during this time which will include frequent traffic movements, but compared to the later operation of the wind farm, there are very few vehicle movements thereafter.
New fencing and gates may be required. Trenches and excavations are generally left open for only a few days and appropriate safety fencing is used during this period to prevent accidents if needed.
How is farming impacted after installation?
There is minimal impact on livestock. Any animal such as sheep, cows and horses are not disturbed by wind turbines at all and the animals typically graze right up to the base of the towers. They even often use the base as rubbing the posts or for shade.
Impacts on cropping are only caused by the access tracks, substation and turbine towers. The quantity of land lost is a very small per centage of the overall land. Minimal impact is achieved by utilizing existing access tracks where possible.
Extensive tree planting should be avoided as trees can slow the wind and cause Turbulence. This will reduce the commercial returns generated by the wind farm. Shelters for stock and other environmental plantings can usually be accommodated with causing any problems.
