Abandonment or decommissioning
A. Removal requirements. Any wind energy system that has reached the end of its useful life or has been abandoned shall be removed by the licensee. The owner/operator shall physically remove the system no more than 150 days after the date of discontinued operations. The applicant shall notify the zoning officer by certified mail of the proposed date of discontinued operations and plans for removal. Decommissioning shall consist of:
1) Physical removal of all wind turbines, structures, equipment, security barriers, and transmission lines from the site.
2) Disposal of all solid and hazardous waste in accordance with local, state, and federal waste disposal regulations.
3) Stabilization or re-vegetation of the site as necessary to minimize erosion. The zoning officer may allow the owner to leave landscaping or designated below-grade foundations in order to minimize erosion and disruption to vegetation.
B. Abandonment. Absent notice of a proposed date of decommissioning or written note of extenuating circumstances, the wind energy system shall be considered abandoned when the system fails to operate for more than one year without the written consent of the zoning officer. When the zoning officer determines that abandonment has occurred, the zoning officer will send notice of this determination to the owner/operator. If the applicant fails to remove the system in accordance with the requirements of this section within 150 days of this notice of abandonment or the proposed date of decommissioning, the town may enter the property and physically remove the system.
C. Financial surety. Applicants for utility-scale wind energy systems shall provide a form of surety, either through escrow account, bond or otherwise, to cover the cost of removal or failure to maintain, in the event the town must maintain or remove the system and remediate the landscape, in an amount and form determined to be reasonable by the zoning officer, but in no event to exceed more than 125 percent of the cost of removal and compliance with the additional requirements set forth herein, as determined by the applicant. Such surety will not be required for municipally or state-owned systems. The applicant shall submit a fully inclusive estimate of the costs associated with removal, prepared by a qualified engineer. The amount shall include a mechanism for calculating increased removal costs due to inflation.
(Ord. of 2-3-2025(1), § 1(Exh. A))