‘Urban turbine” may sound like a rock band, but instead it is shorthand for a form of power generation that may soon be coming to Portland. So, the city is trying to set boundaries on any significant expansion of wind power before it proves as controversial as the efforts to place turbines out to sea or on mountaintops deep in the state’s forested wildlands.

The city may be a bit behind other communities in addressing the issue, but it has recognized that there is a need to have rules in place if and when local residents decide that wind turbines are desirable for their property.

Additional Photos

This photo illustration created for the city of Portland shows how a 160-foot-tall wind turbine, center, might appear from the north side of Tukey's Bridge, if the turbine were erected at the entrance to the Portland Water District s wastewater treatment plant in the city s East End. Courtesy of City of Portland's Planning and Urban Development Department

To date, only one such turbine has been announced. DiMillo’s plans to erect a 35-foot turbine next to its floating restaurant to provide power to its gift shop and help fulfill a corporate commitment to green energy.

Meanwhile, another group has begun to study wind patterns on Peaks Island, although it has no current plans to install any turbines there.

With that possibility in mind, however, and in the knowledge that more and more Maine communities have created local ordinances to regulate wind turbines on their turf, city planners have drafted their own proposal, which the Planning Board approved unanimously earlier this week.

The concept, which now will go to the City Council for discussion, would limit turbines to a height of 160 feet in some recreational and open-space areas, a common size for a 100-kilowatt capacity device.

The machines would be barred from the city’s historic district as well as scenic sites such as old cemeteries, the Eastern and Western Proms, Deering Oaks and Back Cove, and be limited to 45 feet in height in residential areas and 85 feet in commercial zones. They could not make more noise than an average refrigerator, and would have to be quieter at night than during the day.

The proposal is intended to get something on the books, but officials say they are willing to alter it if experience or new technology show a need for changes.

Urban turbines can fill part of our energy needs, but they should still fit within the built environment and not be allowed to overwhelm it.

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