Officials to Visit Wind Turbine Site Before Making Decision

The Lacey zoning board has yet to make a decision on the Walmart wind turbines and may make a trip to OmniWind Energy System’s headquarters before reaching a verdict on the innovative technology.

Walmart is launching a with OmniWind at four stores across the country. The company would install windmills in the store's parking lots to supply power to the buildings.

“The company’s direction is to go as green as it possibly can,” Jason Blalack, Assistant Manager of the Lanoka Harbor Walmart said. “It can be anything from recycling to trying to get ourselves off the grid as much as possible. If we can do that by harnessing the power be it the sun or the wind, so be it. It’s the wave of the future and looking out for future generations to come.”

OmniWind is seeking to replace 10 existing light poles with stronger poles, reinstall the light fixtures at the current height, and install small turbines on top.

The board but postponed making a decision until all questions are answered. In August the company's application was incomplete after they

The applicant needs to get variance approval from the zoning board to extend the lighting poles to 51 feet, as code currently allows poles to rise to only 35 feet.

Each pole would have multi-bladed fans resting on a rotatable device that allows them to turn to face the wind. The turbine would be 8 feet in diameter with 4-foot blades.

Carl Douglas, president and co-founder of OmniWind, showed two videos of the operating machine. With winds of approximately 10 mph, the windmills operated at 10 rpm and sound was measured at 75 to 80 db.

“There is no difference in the readings with the machine operating or not. You’re hearing the ambient sound,” Douglas said. “They’re safe machines and I would put one of these on my property.”

Within the last month, Walmart had solar panels installed that will account for approximately 40 percent of the stores energy, Blalack said. But the company continues to seek wind energy, in which each turbine will put out more than 4,000 kWh per year making up less than 1 percent of Walmart’s energy, Douglas said.

Walmart would need to install 250 square feet of solar panels to create as much energy as one of the wind turbines, Douglas said.

“That’s how far ahead our technology is,” he said.

The application argues that according to the Sica balancing tests, which analyzes the potential public benefits and possible detrimental effects, a wind generating facility is inherently a beneficial use. If the zoning board disagrees, OmniWind would have to make a case for the positive benefits of such turbines. 

But wind systems are not a permitted use in Lacey, which is why the applicant is appearing in front of the board to seek a use variance, Zoning Officer Loretta Rule previously said.

A law passed by the State Senate and General Assembly in November 2009 changed the definition of “inherently beneficial use” to include wind structures. Under a second law, municipalities are kept from “unreasonably” limiting small wind energy system installations.

According to the applicant, the only potential detriment the applicant noted was the visual impact of installing windmills.

“We’re going to dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” board Chairman Tim McDonald said said. “We’re going to move judiciously. We’re going to make sure that what we do, if we do anything, is in the best interest of Lacey Township.”

Residents have expressed safety concerns in addition to the impact the turbines would have on property value.

“Once property value is affected, there’s no turning back,” said Susan Guida of Jacqueline Court, which is located just behind the chain. “Does Walmart win or do we keep the value of our home. That’s really what we’re weighing here.” Guido recommended that the 24-hour Walmart decrease store hours in order to conserve energy instead.

June Rossolillo of Jacqueline Court sought the opinion of a realtor at Re/Max at Barnegat Bay.

“Although it is very difficult to put an exact measure on how much the value of homes near a wind turbine would be affected, it is our opinion that the potential noise and tower visibility will have a meaningful negative effect on their values,” Broker George Broome, Jr. said in a letter.

Broome spoke with agents who live near an existing wind turbine in Ocean Gate who expressed that the noise level is constant and above the decibel level that was originally proposed. The turbine is also an “eyesore,” as it is visible during the fall and winter months.

“It just sounds like there are a lot of people that are gong to be impacted by [the possible installation of wind turbines]- our property values, possibly our health. No one can assure us that that’s not true,” Judy DiFiglio of Jacqueline Court said.

McDonald is waiting to hear from the township, county and state Board of Health, he said.

OmniWind offered to transport the zoning board to the headquarters in Dublin, PA to view the wind turbine in action. The board plans to make the visit before the next meeting on Monday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., when a decision is expected.

For more information on the Walmart Wind Turbines, read the following stories: