Unalaska, AK – Two new residential wind turbines will be installed in Unalaska soon after permits were granted by the planning and zoning commission last week. Unlike the typical windmill-like propeller blades of most wind turbines, Marty Wech and Lilia Howard will both install vertical double-helix style power generators. Wech said he thinks the vertical style will produce more power from the winds and produce more approval from the neighbors.

"It's definitely quieter. The noise assessments have shown that under typical wind, it produces less sound than the ambient wind around it," he said. "I think that's good."

Noise was a main concerned raised by the almost 30 community members who attended the meeting. Some said that during recent storms, some of the wind turbines that were already installed made noises loud enough to wake them up. A new ordinance would try to prevent that from happening by limiting noise to 60 decibels, or about the same as a washing machine.

The planning commission is developing new ordinances to present to the city council that will affect what type and size of residential wind turbines can be built in Unalaska. Commission chair Chris Bobbitt said they want to make sure everyone adheres to the same rules.

"We want to make sure that we protect the community and at the same time we enable the community to generate power on their properties with small wind turbines," he said. "But we want to make sure the city ordinance is in place before we approve these on a case by case basis to make sure we aren't wildly divergent on what we are okay'ing."

The proposed ordinance focuses on safety and includes restrictions on the size of the turbine, where it can go on the property, how much noise it can produce, and which national and state wildlife and safety laws it must adhere to. Bobbitt says an ordinance will also streamline the process and make it easier and faster for residents to get permits. The planning commission will meet again this Thursday at 6 pm in the city council chambers to finalize the ordinance they will suggest to the city council.