The 'Alleged' Footing

It was 'go time', so we started digging, that is my buddy Bubba and his shovel....

Alias Bubba

Code calls for 42" depth and the manufacturer's specs call for 48".  I probably could have gone with 42" and a smaller footing overall (Hi-VAWT's wind turbine design is rated to 134 mph destructive wind speed), however, overbuilding the footing would erase any doubts about my generator's ability to survive Minnesota's 90 mph requirement. 

 So 48"x48"x48" it was.... ....or there abouts....

As you can see above and below, several cases of beer and a couple days of hard labor can achieve quite a bit.  The top 8"-10" was topsoil, the rest was gut wrenching, shovel rattling clay, hardpacked and grouchy.  After we had the hole dug, we filled the bottom 3"-4" with river rock and sank the rebar set-up in at least 1'.  The hole was now ready to be filled.....
    

Dennis, Bubba and I (let's say thier names are aliases to protect the innocent from further criminal prosecution) began mixing the cement, 1 bag at a time, in my wheelbarrow.  2 pallets of 80lb cement can be quite a chore to carry around the yard, mix up and pour using this method, but we perservered...

Alias Dennis

When we neared half of the hole filled, it was time to install the anchor bolt assembly.  Each 1 1/8" anchor bolt is 2' long with a 6" bend.  We welded them on a 1' bolt pattern with the assemble finishing at 3/8" off diagonally and dead on side to side.  The threads were taped to protect them from the cement....

We tied the anchor bolt assembly off to the protruding rebar and leveled off the top of the bolts....



When the cement was up to the base of the threads, we trowelled it up nice and put a strap corner to corner to pull the assembly square....

It was just a matter of time until the cement hardened into concrete, so there was only one thing to do as 'go time' ended....enjoy some Buddy Time for the hard workers of the Buddy Club....




Founding Members of the "Buddy Club"

 

GreenMan

**Alert** Maple Grove storm over windmill ends **Alert**

Below is posted another small wind story of People vs the City :


Maple Grove storm over windmill ends
Jack Tubert; Staff Writer
Publication Date: January 10, 1987  Page: 12A  Section: NEWS  Edition: METRO


Maple Grove's controversial 100-foot-tall windmill in a residential
neighborhood on the shore of Fish Lake was dismantled Friday. The
galvanized steel tower, two-ton generator and three-blade windmill,
source of lawsuits and protest petitions, came down without incident.

Its new owner, Wes Bendickson, who owns Green Acres Farm Tree
Service, said the windmill will be used on his 40-acre farm in Independence.

Richard Harrison, former owner of the windmill, said yesterday
that he sold it when the city came up with a good offer. Harrison and
his wife, Laurie Karnes, of 7359 Berkshire Court, had used the
generator to supply electricity for their computer company.
Doug Reeder, Maple Grove's city administrator, said the city paid
$22,500 last month for the wind-power generator. Harrison had said it
cost $24,000 when erected in April 1984.

The city gave the tower to Bendickson on the condition that he would pay to remove it.  Five years ago Maple Grove became the first Twin Cities-area community to adopt an ordinance permitting 100-foot tall windmills in developed residential areas.

Harrison, the first to apply, was issued a permit on Feb. 27,
1984. He built the tower close to the street, where it dominated the
cul-de-sac. In May 1984, 31 neighborhood residents petitioned for
a ban on wind generators in the area and asked that the tower be
dismantled or moved elsewhere on the property.
In June 1985, the City Council declared Harrison's windmill a
nuisance and ordered it removed. Harrison did nothing and the city sued
him for noncompliance. Harrison countersued on the grounds that the
generator's location was approved by a city inspector.

Harrison accepted $22,500 for the windmill in an out-of-court
settlement, Reeder said. He said the city and the insurance company
that covers Maple Grove municipal employees each paid $11,250.

Maple Grove now has a zoning ordinance that limits windmills to
sites of three acres or more.

After the windmill was carted away yesterday, next-door neighbor Harriet Moritko said, "It feels like this monster hanging over this neighborhood has been lifted off."

Harrison said he tried to ease tensions when he appeared at City Hall to sign the bill of sale by filing an application "for a home nuclear power plant."  Lee Mehrkens, assistant city administrator, said he got a kick out of the plan and submitted it to Reeder, who decided, "Let's leave it for the City Council; maybe they'll enjoy it."



GreenMan

Submitting the Building Permit Application

Knowing what I was up against, a bureaucratic brick wall and a thought process which purports the city's control over my property to be more than mine as the property owner,  I decided to go forward with my building permit application.  I supplied the city with all the pertinent information they would need to assess the viability of my modern wind generator.

The application included a photo of the Hi-VAWT Technology vertical axis wind turbine, electrical and mechanical technical specifications, a site plan including the proposed location of the wind turbine as well as pictures of other household installations which are similar to my application. I submitted the application on October 13, 2010.

I assumed that I would be starting a dialogue on how to accomplish my goal by working with the city.

Then came the impudent denial a short 2 days later on October 15, 2010.  There was hardly enough time for city staff to do much of a review of renewable energies, let alone wind turbines with any kind of due diligence.

 

The reasons for denial do not make sense or do not apply to my situation.  The city's position is that "Wind generators are not listed as a permitted accessory or conditional use within the City and more specifically the LR-1B lakeshore residential district where the property is located.  Therefore the use is not allowed."  There was no mention of an ordinance I would be violating (although I believe they were referring to sec. 78 of the Orono city code).

A conditional use is defined as (Sec. 78-1 Definitions) "Use, conditional, means those occupations, vocations, skills, arts, businesses, professions or uses specifically designated in each zoning use district...".  In order for my project to be classified as an conditional use, Iwould have to knock my house down and install a wind farm.  Far from what I proposed.

Accessory structure is defined as (Sec. 78-1 Definitions) "Accessory use or structure means a use or structure subordinate to and serving the principal use or structure on the same lot and customarily incidental to the principal use or structure."   The words 'customarily incedental'  refer to things people normally have such as decks, sheds and detached garages.  If nobody has a wind turbine, how can it be customarily to anything?

Further, my neighbors and many others have items located in this district which are not allowed as well.  They include but are not limited to:  light poles, flag poles, basketball hoops, basketball hoops with light poles, bug zappers, portable hot tubs, weather vanes/weather stations.

To this point:

• I was unable to get the zoning/planning coordinator to visit my site to discuss my project.
• I submitted my building permit application.
• The city never tried to communicate with me about my project and it's possibilities.
• I received a vague denial of my project with no mention of a possible ordinance violation.
• There was no direction provided by city staff to proceed in any way with my project.

It was getting near the end of October, winter was in the air and the ground was ready to freeze. I had to make a choice:

1. Capitulate to the city and submit to a lengthy and costly process which may result in complete denial of my renewable project as well as miss the opportunity to start capturing the wind resource available to my property before the ground thaws next spring
2. Proceed forward on installing the footing before the snow flew so I can be ready when my wind turbine arrives after the new year.

                                                                         So we started digging......


GreenMan

Working with the City

I have heard and seen many comments about how I need to work with the city to accomplish my goal of harnessing the wind.   I did try.  I called city hall and the planning/zoning administrator told me there was no need to visit my site, that we could do everything over the phone.

I was dumbfounded.

I frequently visited properties when I was on the planning commission and city council to ensure that I was able to take into account any real life issues associated with people requests.  The previous city employee who held the same position was known to peruse the city as needed for such matters as well. 

I knew, because of my previous experience, that the city codes were lacking and would need some work to adequately address the renewable energies market.  I figured that I would help kick-start that process in Orono as well as other cities and that I could help with the expertise I have developed over the years.

To my surprise, I was told that I would need to go through a long and expensive petition process to change the ordinance to allow renewable energies. Why should I have to tie up my investment and wait for what could be years to see if they say "yes" or "no"?  Especially when they have no ordinances controlling the issue other than the right to gain access to solar energy in 3 different places in the Orono city code.

Therefore, they have already declared renewable energy as a right of the property owner, but I need to wait and see if wind is acceptable?

The city should be there to help me accomplish my goals, not to erect expensive roadblocks and arbitrarily deny me access to the renewable resources of my property.

                                                        
                  So I submitted my building permit application.........



GreenMan

My Qualifications

I have seen questions as to my qualifications to venture forth into this hi-tech area,  they are as follows:

Graduated Orono High School, 1983, entire time living in Orono or Long Lake
US Navy Machinist Mate "A" School, 1984, Top 10% of my Class
US Navy Nuclear Power School (Florida), 1985, graduated in top half of class
US Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit (Idaho), 1985, graduated in top half of class
BS Mechanical Engineering, 1996, University of Minnesota, 3.2 GPA
Orono Planning Commision, 1998-2000
Orono City Council, 2000-2003
Honeywell, Mechanical Engineer, R&D Engineer for JDAM project
Installing Photovoltaic Systems, Florida Solar Energy Center, 2008
Certified Class 1 Energy Gauge Rater, State of Florida, 2009-Present
President of Go Green Energy, LLC, 2008-Present


These are just my paper qualifications.  Several hobbies I have keep me quite busy with the time I can spare, I own and operate the following as much as I can:

1954 Chris Craft Sportsman Deluxe Runabout, 17'
1963 Chris Craft Constellation, 27'
1971 Chevrolet Nova (sorry, just a 250 in it)
1965 Motobecane Moped, 6 volt

I also enjoy model rockets as a hobby that I have shared with the kids ay my children's elementary school for 8 years.

 GreenMan

Capturing Minnesota's Wind

That was my plan and it has been temporarily setback.  I've invested an incredible amount of time and money through my company, Go Green Energy (gogreenenergyonline.com), pursuing a goal of bringing energy independence into the mainstream.  A natural first step is to set an example by taking advantage of the abundant renewable energies available to my properties.   In Lee County, Florida, the county was there to help me accomplish this goal as I installed a 3kW Photovoltaic (solar) system, solar hot water, solar attic fan and solar ceiling fan on our vacation home.  In Orono, Minnesota, it has been a totally different experience.   Our Lake Minnetonka home was recently denied the ability to harness the wind with an ultra-modern 1.5kW vertical axis wind turbine manufactured by Hi-VAWT Corporation from Taiwan. (Minnesota Wind Speed Map)

The following posts will chronicle the implementation of my plans to utilize green energy in Florida and Minnesota, starting with the winds of Lake Minnetonka.  I hope my journey will help pave the way for anyone venturing into the business and / or lifestyle of going green.

GreenMan