Annex 8 Telecommunication Interference Study Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air TV Analysis

Glacier Sands Wind

Prepared on Behalf of Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC

July 29, 2019

Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - 1 -

2. Summary of Results - 1 -

3. Impact Assessment - 5 -

4. Recommendations - 6 -

5. Contact - 7 -

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

1. Introduction

Off-air television stations broadcast signals from terrestrially-based facilities directly to television receivers. Comsearch identified those off-air stations whose service could potentially be affected by the proposed Glacier Sands Wind Project in Mason County, . Comsearch then examined the coverage of the stations and the communities in the area that could potentially have degraded television reception due to the location of the proposed wind turbines.

2. Summary of Results

The proposed wind energy project area and local communities are depicted in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Wind Farm Project Area and Local Communities

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

To begin the analysis, Comsearch compiled all off-air television stations1 within 150 kilometers of the proposed turbines. TV stations at a distance of 150 kilometers or less are the most likely to provide off-air coverage to the project area and neighboring communities. These stations are listed in Table 1, below, and a plot depicting their locations is provided in Figure 2. There are a total of 75 database records for stations within approximately 150 kilometers of the proposed turbines. Of these stations, only 32 stations are currently licensed and operating, 27 of which are low-power stations or translators. Translator stations are low-power stations that receive signals from distant broadcasters and retransmit the signal to a local audience. These stations serve local audiences and have limited range, which is a function of their transmit power and the height of their transmit antenna.

Figure 2: Plot of Off-Air TV Stations within 150 Kilometers of Proposed Turbines

1 Comsearch makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the data included in this report beyond the date of the report. The data presented in this report is derived from the TV station’s FCC license and governed by Comsearch’s data license notification and agreement located at http://www.comsearch.com/files/data_license.pdf.

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

Distance to Transmit Latitude Longitude the Closet ID Call Sign Status Service2 Channel ERP3 (NAD 83) (NAD 83) Turbine (kW) (km) 1 W32EF-D LIC LD 32 6 40.558083 -89.568139 28.61 2 WTVP CP DT 35 155 40.628889 -89.570000 36.39 3 WTVP CP DX 46 165 40.628889 -89.570000 36.39 4 WMBD-TV CP DT 26 822 40.635000 -89.538611 37.45 5 WMBD-TV LIC DT 30 800 40.635000 -89.538611 37.45 6 WKMH-LD LIC LD 16 1 40.653056 -89.587222 38.93 7 WHOI CP MOD DT 24 625 40.653056 -89.587222 38.93 8 W35DE-D LIC LD 35 6 40.653056 -89.587222 38.93 9 WDLF-LD LIC LD 14 5 40.653083 -89.587306 38.93 10 W08DP CP TX 8 0.006 39.828889 -89.595611 43.72 11 W08DP CP LD 36 15 39.828889 -89.595556 43.72 12 W33AY-D CP LD 31 15 39.780889 -89.605056 48.86 13 W33AY-D LIC LD 33 4 39.780889 -89.605056 48.86 14 W33AY-D CP LD 33 0.5 39.780889 -89.605056 48.86 15 WBDI-LD LIC LD 14 3 39.780806 -89.605444 48.86 16 W41DP-D LIC LD 41 3 39.780806 -89.605444 48.86 17 WCIX CP DT 11 5 39.790944 -89.514722 49.47 18 WICS CP MOD DT 15 350 39.804167 -89.461111 49.66 19 WRSP-TV CP MOD DT 16 360 39.804167 -89.461111 49.66 20 WCQA-LD LIC LD 12 3 39.971056 -89.174361 50.09 21 W38FQ-D CP MOD LD 38 6 39.765556 -89.663056 50.10 22 WBDI-LD CP LD 5 3 39.769639 -89.574778 50.52 23 W41DP-D CP LD 23 15 39.769639 -89.574778 50.52 24 WEEJ-LD CP LD 27 15 39.769639 -89.574778 50.52 25 WRSP-TV LIC DT 44 335 39.799111 -89.446139 50.69 26 WYZZ-TV LIC DT 28 1000 40.645833 -89.179167 53.23 27 W19EE-D CP MOD LD 19 6 39.671528 -89.542222 61.75 28 W25EW-D CP MOD LD 25 1 39.671528 -89.542222 61.75

2 Definitions of service and status codes: TV – broadcast station DT – Digital television broadcast station DX – Digital auxiliary (backup) facility DS – Digital special temporary authority (STA) LP – Low power analog television broadcast station LD – Low power digital television broadcast station CA – Class A analog television broadcast station DC – Class A digital television broadcast station TX – Translator station LIC – Licensed and operational station CP – Construction permit granted CP MOD – Modification of construction permit APP – Application for construction permit, not yet operational STA – Special transmit authorization, usually granted by FCC for temporary operation

3 ERP = Transmit

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

Distance to Transmit Latitude Longitude the Closet ID Call Sign Status Service2 Channel ERP3 (NAD 83) (NAD 83) Turbine (kW) (km) 29 WEEJ-LD LIC LD 49 6 39.636944 -89.721944 64.41 30 WSEC CP MOD DT 18 750 39.602556 -90.046500 72.63 31 W40CV-D LIC LD 29 15 39.602556 -90.046500 72.63 32 W40CV-D LIC LD 40 15 39.602556 -90.046500 72.63 33 WLCF-LD CP LD 17 15 39.950833 -88.868056 72.82 34 WLCF-LD CP LD 21 15 39.950833 -88.868056 72.82 35 WLCF-LD CP LD 21 15 39.950833 -88.868056 72.82 36 WLCF-LD CP LD 21 15 39.950833 -88.868056 72.82 37 WLCF-LD CP LD 21 15 39.950833 -88.868056 72.82 38 WBUI LIC DT 22 325 39.948889 -88.836917 75.25 39 WAND LIC DT 17 1000 39.952389 -88.832389 75.41 40 WAND CP MOD DT 20 1000 39.952389 -88.832389 75.41 41 WMEC CP DT 36 100 40.398333 -90.731944 83.13 42 WILL-TV APP DT 9 35 40.038889 -88.669444 84.48 43 W51DT CP LD 19 1.4 40.942778 -90.344167 90.19 44 W51DT LIC TX 51 17.8 40.942778 -90.344167 90.19 45 WBXC-CD CP MOD DC 18 15 40.111111 -88.243056 118.06 46 WBXC-CD LIC DC 46 2.5 40.111111 -88.243056 118.06 47 W39BH LIC TX 39 12.5 40.109472 -88.235028 118.77 48 W39BH CP LD 27 5 40.109361 -88.234889 118.78 49 WQPT-TV APP DT 23 1000 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 50 KLJB CP MOD DT 30 1000 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 51 WQAD-TV CP MOD DT 31 1000 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 52 KQCT-LP CP MOD LD 32 15 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 53 KWQC-TV LIC DT 36 1000 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 54 WQAD-TV LIC DT 38 1000 41.312361 -90.379500 126.45 55 KGCW CP MOD DT 21 1000 41.327500 -90.379444 127.94 56 WQEC LIC DT 34 58.6 39.978056 -91.308889 133.52 57 WQEC APP DT 34 408 39.978056 -91.308889 133.52 58 W18CJ LIC TX 18 21.3 39.972028 -91.327889 135.25 59 W18CJ LIC LD 27 15 39.972028 -91.327889 135.25 60 WTJR LIC DT 32 1000 39.972028 -91.327889 135.25 61 KHQA-TV LIC DT 7 13.6 39.972778 -91.331944 135.57 62 KHQA-TV APP DT 7 30 39.972778 -91.331944 135.57 63 WEIU-TV CP DT 30 174 39.570833 -88.307083 136.06 64 WGEM-TV CP DT 10 39.1 39.951111 -91.331667 136.10 65 K44AB-D LIC LD 19 5.36 40.411139 -91.404028 139.65 66 K44AB-D LIC LD 44 6.65 40.411139 -91.404028 139.65 67 K30NF-D LIC LD 30 6 40.391111 -91.413889 140.20 68 K14SU-D CP LD 38 10 40.391111 -91.413889 140.20 69 WVDM-LD CP LD 40 15 39.861194 -91.363361 141.40 70 WICD LIC DT 32 1000 40.069444 -87.912778 146.60

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

Distance to Transmit Latitude Longitude the Closet ID Call Sign Status Service2 Channel ERP3 (NAD 83) (NAD 83) Turbine (kW) (km) 71 WCCU CP MOD DT 36 125 40.069444 -87.912778 146.60 72 NEW APP LD 48 15 40.410833 -91.488611 146.77 73 W50CH-D CP MOD DC 36 15 38.920028 -90.105083 147.30 74 W50CH-D LIC DC 50 15 38.920028 -90.105083 147.30 75 K28JD-D LIC LD 28 15 40.631944 -91.433611 147.38

Table 1: Off-Air TV Stations within 150 Kilometers of Proposed Turbines

3. Impact Assessment

Based on a contour analysis of the licensed stations within 150 kilometers of the Glacier Sands Wind Project, it was determined that 5 of the full-power digital stations, identified below in Table 2, along with low-power digital station WCQA-LD, may have their reception disrupted in and around the project. The areas primarily affected would include TV service locations within 10 kilometers of the turbines that have clear line-of-sight (LOS) to a proposed wind turbine but not to the respective station. After the wind turbines are installed, communities and homes in these locations may have degraded reception of these stations. This is due to multipath interference caused by signal scattering as TV signals are reflected by the rotating wind turbine blades and mast.

Transmit Distance to Latitude Longitude ID Call Sign Status Service4 Channel ERP5 the Closest (NAD 83) (NAD 83) (kW) Turbine (km) 5 WMBD-TV LIC DT 30 800 40.303355 -89.618347 37.45 20 WCQA-LD LIC LD 12 3 40.270276 -89.613964 50.09 25 WRSP-TV LIC DT 44 335 40.216288 -89.686828 50.69 26 WYZZ-TV LIC DT 28 1000 40.303355 -89.618347 53.23 38 WBUI LIC DT 22 325 40.270276 -89.613964 75.25 39 WAND LIC DT 17 1000 40.270276 -89.613964 75.41

Table 2: Licensed Off-Air TV Stations Subject to Degradation

4 Definitions of service and status codes: DT – Digital television broadcast station LD – Low-power digital television broadcast station DX – Digital auxiliary (backup) facility LIC – Licensed and operational station

5 ERP = Transmit Effective Radiated Power

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

4. Recommendations

While TV signals are reflected by wind turbines, which can cause multipath interference to the TV receiver, modern digital TV receivers have undergone significant improvements to mitigate the effects of signal scattering. When used in combination with a directional antenna, it becomes even less likely that signal scattering from wind farms will cause interference to digital TV reception.

Nevertheless, signal scattering could still impact certain areas currently served by the TV station mentioned above, especially those that would have line-of-sight to at least one wind turbine but not to the station antenna. In the unlikely event that interference is observed in any of the TV service areas, it is recommended that a high-gain directional antenna be used, preferably outdoors, and oriented towards the signal origin in order to mitigate the interference.

Both cable service and direct broadcast satellite service will be unaffected by the presence of the wind turbine facility and may be offered to those residents who can show that their off-air TV reception has been disrupted by the presence of the wind turbines after they are installed.

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Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Glacier Sands Wind

5. Contact

For questions or information regarding the Off-Air TV Analysis, please contact:

Contact person: David Meyer Title: Senior Manager Company: Comsearch Address: 19700 Janelia Farm Blvd., Ashburn, VA 20147 Telephone: 703-726-5656 Fax: 703-726-5595 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.comsearch.com

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