There is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference by the City of Iola, Kansas the "Interconnection Standards for Parallel Installation and Operation of Customer-Owned Electric Generating Facilities." No fewer than three copies of the publication shall be marked or stamped "Official copy as adopted by Ordinance 3523 of the City of Iola, Kansas," and shall be filed with the city clerk and open for inspection and available to the public for review at all reasonable hours.
(Ord. No. 3523)
Any person, business, or other entity other than the City of Iola, must submit an application along with a base fee of $100.00. This fee may be set higher by a majority vote of the Iola City Council, dependent upon the size of the proposed generating capacity. The application can be obtained from the code enforcement office.
(Ord. No. 3523)
All applications will be reviewed by the city administrator or his/her assigns and a decision rendered within 30 working days. If the application is approved a permit for construction will be issued to the applicant. Under certain conditions related to the basis upon which a denial is issued by the city administrator, the applicant may elect to appeal for a variance through the zoning appeals board.
(Ord. No. 3523)
Any wind energy conversion system (WECS) shall be located a minimum of 50 feet from any property line, and a minimum of 100 percent of the tower height plus 100 percent of the rotor diameter from any overhead power lines. Any city owned generation may be exempt from the limit from overhead power lines.
Additionally, the WECS is subject to the following requirements:
(a) The WECS shall not cause interference to microwave communications or radio and television reception in the area. Noise levels measured at the lot line shall not exceed 60 DBA in a residential zone.
(b) To limit climbing access to WECS tower, or other support structure, a six-foot fence with locking portal shall be placed around the WECS support or, if a tower is utilized, the tower climbing apparatus shall be limited to no lower than 12 feet from the ground. The WECS support may be mounted on a rooftop.
(c) All blades of the WECS shall be constructed of non-metallic substances. If the applicant can prove, in writing form, that no electromagnetic interference will result, a metal content of up to 25 percent will be acceptable.
(d) The WECS shall be located in compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations with regard to airport approach and clearance around VOR and DVOR stations.
(e) Height of the WECS shall not exceed, beyond those restrictions already set out above with regard to overhead power lines, the maximum height restriction in the zone where it is located by more than 20 feet. The height of the WECS shall be measured at the center of the blade diameter. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, the maximum height of the WECS shall not, under any circumstance, exceed 60 feet.
(f) Data pertaining to the WECS safety and structural integrity shall be certified by a licensed engineer and filed with the building permit application. The tower or support and top adaptor shall meet the restrictions specified by the city's building code.
(g) The WECS, if interconnected to a utility system, shall meet the requirements for interconnection and operation as set forth in the electric utility's current service regulations applicable to WECS.
(h) A plot plan shall be submitted with the application for building permit showing the proposed location and height of the WECS, fencing and all existing buildings within 200 feet of the exterior of lot lines.
(i) The owner/operator shall provide covenants1 easements or similar documentation to assure sufficient wind to operate the WECS unless adequate accessibility to the wind is provided by the site.
(j) The owner/operator shall certify that the WECS does not violate any covenants of record.
(k) The applicant shall provide a certificate of liability insurance. Annually, the owner/operator shall present evidence to the Code Enforcement Officer that the liability insurance is still in effect.
(Ord. No. 3523)
An annual inspection and permit may be issued by the City of Iola. Any fees associated with the inspection and/or permit will be set by a majority vote of the city Council by resolution.
(Ord. No. 3523)
All cost for enhancements due to any system degradation caused by private electrical generation shall be paid by the owner of the private generation facility.
(Ord. No. 3523)
All permits shall be issued to the proposed owner of the facility and are non-transferable. A new application must be submitted prior to the transfer of ownership. Any facility that transfers ownership without a new permit may be disconnected by the city for non-compliance.
(Ord. No. 3523)
(a) The city shall offer parallel generation to its customers that wish to generate electricity on the customer's side of the meter using only renewable resources for energy sources.
(b) Parallel generation is intended for residential customer generators with a rated output of less than 25 kW and commercial customers generators with a rated output of less than 200 kW. Systems rated for more than 25 kW will be handled under a different process and may involve the local control area and regional transmission organization.
(c) The city shall make parallel generation available to eligible customer generators within its service area on a first-come, first-served basis. The maximum total rated capacity in kW of customer generation that will be allowed on the city's system shall be restricted to not more than four percent of the city's monthly peak kW consumption during the previous annual billing period.
(d) Customer generators shall be equipped with properly approved city metering equipment that can measure the flow of electricity in both directions at the same rate, typically through use of a single bi-directional meter. Necessary metering will be installed by the city at customer expense.
(e) Whenever the amount of electricity delivered by an eligible customer generator in a billing period exceeds the electricity supplied by the city in such billing period, the city shall settle with the customer generator for the excess kilowatt-hours (kWh) in accordance with the billing practices described in this policy.
(f) If a customer generator formally terminates parallel generation, the city shall treat the end of the service period as if it were the end of the billing period and, if applicable, settle with the customer generator according to the appropriate billing practices.
(g) The city shall provide parallel generation at non-discriminatory rates that are identical with respect to the applicable customer rate class, retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the rates that a customer would be charged if not a customer generator.
(h) The city shall not charge a customer generator any fee or charge, or require additional equipment or any other requirement, unless the fee, charge, or other requirement is specifically authorized under the terms of the interconnection agreement, this policy or if the fee, charge or other requirement would apply to other customers that are not customer generators. Any insurance coverage that may be required is specifically exempted from this paragraph, however, and is subject to the terms of the Interconnection Standards for Parallel Installation and Operation of Customer-Owned Electric Generating Facilities.
(i) Nothing in this policy shall abrogate any customer's obligation to comply with all applicable federal, state, or local laws, codes, or ordinances; nor with the standards, service regulations, and policies of the city.
(Ord. No. 3523)
To qualify for parallel generation, customer generators must comply with the City Code Chapter XV Interconnection Standards for Parallel Installation and Operation of Customer-Owned Electric Generating Facilities.
(Ord. No. 3523)
The customer generator shall make a request for parallel generation by completing the city's application for parallel generation and the city's application for interconnection.
(Ord. No. 3523)
(a) A customer selecting this billing option will be billed for all kilowatt hours delivered by the utility to the customer under the applicable utility standard retail rate and for fuel adjustment and other charges. For electrical energy delivered by the customer to the utility from the renewable energy resource, the customer shall be paid 150% of the utility's prior yearly system average wholesale cost of energy per kilowatt.
(b) Regardless of whether the customer generator is entitled to receive financial credit for excess electrical energy from a prior billing period, customer generators remain responsible for all charges incurred during each billing period including, but not limited to: customer charges, facilities charges, demand charges, environmental charges, transmission charges, any late payment charges, and any requirements for deposits or special charges or fees that may be applied.
(c) Any net excess generation credit remaining in a customer generator's account at the end of each calendar year.
(Ord. No. 3523)
Interconnection to the electric system shall be granted only to new or existing customers, in good standing, under the city's electric service schedules. All agreements hereunder shall be between the customer generator and the city and will not include third parties.
(Ord. No. 3523)
The customer generator shall make a request by completing the attached documents entitled "Application for Parallel Generation" and "Application for Interconnection." The city may require additional information or clarifications as needed to properly evaluate the application.
(Ord. No. 3523)
The city will analyze the overall impact of the proposed generating facility on the transmission and distribution system. Such analyses will be based on good utility practice to determine thermal effects, voltage ranges, power quality, system stability, etc.
(Ord. No. 3523)
As a result of the above analysis, the city will provide the customer generator with a cost estimate and projected timeframe for any system upgrades, to be paid for by the customer generator, that may be necessary to accommodate the generating facility.
(Ord. No. 3523)
(a) The customer generator shall be responsible for procuring all building, operating and environmental permits that are required by any governmental authority having jurisdiction for the type of generating facility and for the necessary ancillary structures to be installed.
(b) The equipment shall meet the standards listed in the attached document entitled "National Certification Codes and Standards."
(c) The construction and facilities shall meet all local building and electrical codes.
(Ord. No. 3523)
Upon completion of the generating facility and prior to normal operation, the customer generator shall provide a signed copy of the attached document entitled "Certificate of Completion" as required by the interconnection agreement.
(Ord. No. 3523)
The customer generator may begin normal operation of the generating facility upon completion of all documentation, inspection by, and receipt of written approval from the city.
(Ord. No. 3523)