Communication Studies
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EXHIBIT 1 PSC REF#:160376 Part 37 of 43 2535-CE-100 Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 1/17/2013Highland (aff) Wind Farm February 2012 RECEIVED: 02/28/12, 1:34:36 PM APPENDIX U Communication Studies • Comsearch – Wind Power GeoPlanner • Comsearch – Microwave Report − Addendum – Study Update as of January 24, 2012 (added February 2012) • Comsearch – Radio Astronomy Report • Comsearch – Communication Tower Study • Comsearch – TV Off Air TV Report • Comsearch – TV Measurement Report • Comsearch – Mobile Phone Carrier Report • NTIA Response Letter • Comsearch – Doppler and Radar Report (added February 2012) Highland Wind Farm December 2011 Comsearch – Wind Power GeoPlanner Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Executive Summary – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Licensed Microwave Search & Worst Case Fresnel Zone Comsearch performed an analysis to evaluate the potential effects of the planned St. Croix project in St Croix County, WI on existing non-Federal Government microwave telecom systems. Microwave Search Results: Comsearch’s Wind Power GeoPlanner™ provides a graphical representation of affected microwave paths and provides supporting technical parameters. The microwave path data is overlaid on topographic basemaps. Comsearch identified 50 microwave paths that intersect the project area (see Figure 1 and Table 1 below). Comsearch then calculated a Worst Case Fresnel Zone (WCFZ) for each microwave path in the project area. The mid-point of a full microwave path is the location where the widest (or worst case) Fresnel zone occurs. Fresnel zones are calculated for each path using the following formula. n ⎛ dd 21 ⎞ Rn ≅ 17.3 ⎜ ⎟ FGHz ⎝ + dd 21 ⎠ Where, Rn = First Fresnel Zone Radius, meters n = The Number 1 FGHz = Frequency of Microwave Link, GHz d1 = Distance to Wind Turbine from Microwave Station 1, km d2 = Distance to Wind Turbine from Microwave Station 2, km note: For WCFZ calculation d1 = d2 The calculated WCFZ radius, giving the linear path an area or swath, buffers each microwave path in the project area. The distance unit is in meters and can be found in the column attribute “WCFZ.” In general, this is the XY area where the planned wind turbines should be avoided, if possible. These areas are shown in Figure 2 through 5. Please note that because the turbine locations were not provided, we could not determine if any potential obstruction cases exist between the planned wind turbines and the microwave systems. If the latitude and longitude values for turbine locations are provided, Comsearch can identify specific microwave telecom paths and turbines where a potential XY conflict exists. Additionally, when wind turbines need to be located inside a WCFZ, Comsearch can provide a detailed clearance study, which considers the vertical Z-height clearance objectives. Comsearch 1 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Map Projection: The ESRI® Shapefiles contained in the enclosed GeoPlanner CD are in NAD 83 UTM Zone 15 projected coordinate system. Comsearch Contact: Denise Finney, Account Manager Phone: (703) 726-5650 Fax: (703) 726-5595 Email: [email protected] Comsearch 2 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Figure 1 – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Comsearch 3 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Figure 2 – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ & WCFZ (NW) Comsearch 4 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Figure 3 – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ & WCFZ (NE) Comsearch 5 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Figure 4 – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ & WCFZ (SW) Comsearch 6 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Figure 5 – Wind Power GeoPlanner™ & WCFZ (SE) Comsearch 7 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix Call Sign Call Sign ID Name Site 1 Name Site 2 Band Name Licensee WCFZ (m) Site 1 Site 2 1 RED WING HUDSON KAH87 KSI28 6.1 GHz AT&T CORP 24.35 2 HUDSON WYOMING KSI28 KAK48 6.1 GHz AT&T CORP 25.52 3 KING PLANT KING STACKPR WED835 WEE273P1 6.7 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 1.02 4 KING STACKPR HIGH BRDG PR WED835P1 WEE273P2 6.7 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 17.72 5 CHISAGO KING STACK WED953 WED835P 6.7 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 23.54 6 KING STACK KING PLANT WED953P WED835 6.7 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 1.02 7 HAMMOND EMERALD WEF801 WEF800 940-960 MHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 35.17 8 HUDSON HAMMOND WEF802 WEF801 940-960 MHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 36.99 9 BALDWIN ELMWOOD WHP63 KSG57 6.7 GHz WISCONSIN DIVISION OF STATE PATROL 17.47 10 MAPLEWOOD HUDSON WLN491 WPWG449 6.1 GHz New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - MN, WI 17.76 11 OAKDALE BALDWIN WLU251 WLU483 6.7 GHz New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - MN, WI 21.98 12 BALDWIN WILSON WLU483 WPWH534 6.7 GHz New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - MN, WI 14.77 13 KING STACK COTTAGE GRV WNTQ606 WNTQ605 940-960 MHz WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF DEPT. 39.46 14 NEW RICHMOND HAMMOND WNTU744 WNTU749 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 15.04 15 NEW RICHMOND GLENWOOD WNTU744 WNTU748 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 18.27 16 KING STACK NEW RICHMOND WNTU745 WNTU744 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 15.09 17 KING STACK HUDSON COM C WNTU745 WNTU746 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 8.82 18 KING STACK HUDSON COM C WNTU745 WNTU746 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 8.82 19 RIVER FALLS KING STACK WNTU747 WNTU745 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 17.21 20 HAMMOND RIVER FALLS WNTU749 WNTU747 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 14.79 21 HAMMOND GLENWOOD WNTU749 WNTU748 940-960 MHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 42.01 22 HAMMOND BALDWIN WNTU749 WPZC594 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 7.89 23 KING PLANT HUDSON WPNN909 WPNN908 6.1 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 10.35 24 CHISAGO KING PLANT WPNN910 WPNN909 6.1 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 24.52 25 PINE LAKE APPLE RIVER WPNN917 WPNN912 6.1 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 21.35 Comsearch 8 October 5, 2007 Emerging Energies Of Wisconsin St. Croix 26 BALDWIN PINE LAKE WPNN918 WPNN917 6.1 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 15.40 27 MENOMONIE BALDWIN WPOP301 WPNN918 6.1 GHz XCEL ENERGY SERVICES INC 20.16 28 KING PLANT LINO LAKES WPQL507 WPQL514 6.1 GHz MINNESOTA, STATE OF (DOT) 19.77 29 CITATION CBL KING PLANT WPQL517 WPQL507 6.1 GHz MINNESOTA, STATE OF (DOT) 15.79 30 N514 A1IN732 WPSG906 WPVR557 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 22.40 31 N514 A1N903 WPSG906 WQGE396 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 17.29 32 N044 N058 WPSL869 WPSL878 6.7 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 15.14 33 N044 N058 WPSL869 WPSL878 6.7 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 15.14 34 Q053 Q076 WPSL871 WPSL877 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 17.95 35 Q053 Q076 WPSL871 WPSL877 6.7 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 17.23 36 N043 N514 WPSL873 WPSG906 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 11.74 37 N043 N044 WPSL873 WPSL869 6.7 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 14.13 38 Q076 N043 WPSL877 WPSL873 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 10.89 39 Q076 N043 WPSL877 WPSL873 6.7 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 10.45 40 WASHINGTON KING STACK WPSP501 WNTQ606 11 GHz WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF DEPT. 3.74 41 HUDSON NEW RICHMOND WPWG449 WPWH543 6.7 GHz New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - MN, WI 17.10 42 HUDSON WILSON WPWG449 WPWH534 6.7 GHz New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - MN, WI 20.52 43 BALDWIN GLENWOOD WPZC594 WNTU748 6.7 GHz ST. CROIX COUNTY 15.12 44 RIVER FALLS 219 GLOVER R WQAZ976 RXONLY 950 MHz BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 18.13 45 ST CROIX 733 EXCHANGE WQDB429 RXONLY 950 MHz WRPX, INC. 25.87 46 BALDWIN WESTON WQEW679 WEE776 6.1 GHz DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE 17.48 47 BALDWIN CLEAR LAKE WQEW679 WQEW683 6.1 GHz DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE 20.91 48 BALDWIN RIVER FALLS WQEW679 WPXG334 6.7 GHz DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE 15.28 49 A1N903 A1IN732 WQGE396 WPVR557 6.1 GHz T-Mobile License LLC 14.26 50 PRESCOTT BALDWIN WQHB473 WHP63 6.1 GHz WISCONSIN DIVISION OF STATE PATROL 22.19 Table 1 – Microwave GeoPlanner Links Considered in Analysis (See enclosed mw_geopl.xls for more detailed information and GP_dict_matrix_description.xls for field description) Comsearch 9 October 5, 2007 Highland Wind Farm December 2011 Comsearch – Microwave Report Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Licensed Microwave Report Highland Wind Farm, LLC Prepared on Behalf of Highland Wind Farm, LLC July 27, 2010 Highland Wind Farm, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Licensed Microwave Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction - 1 - 2. Summary of Results - 2 - 3. Tables and Figures - 4 - 4. Contact Us - 12 - Comsearch Proprietary - 0 - July 27, 2010 Highland Wind Farm, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Licensed Microwave Report 1. Introduction The use of wind energy, one of the oldest forms of harnessing a natural energy source, is now one of the world’s fastest growing alternative energy sources. The United States is committed to the use of wind energy, and over the next several years billions of dollars will be spent on wind power projects. However, as new wind turbine generators are installed around the country, it is important to note that they may pose an interference threat to existing microwave systems and broadcast stations licensed to operate in the United States. Wind turbines can interfere with microwave paths by physically blocking the line-of-sight between two microwave transmitters. Additionally, wind turbines have the potential to cause blockage and reflections (“ghosting”) to television reception. Blockage is caused by the physical presence of the turbines between the television station and the reception points. Ghosting is caused by multipath interference that occurs when a broadcast signal reflects off of a large reflective object—in this case a wind turbine—and arrives at a television receiver delayed in time from the signal that arrives via direct path.