Wind Power Geoplanner™ Off-Air TV Analysis
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air TV Analysis Crown City Wind Energy Project Prepared on Behalf of Air Energy TCI Inc September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project Table of Contents 1. Introduction - 1 - 2. Summary of Results - 1 - 3. Impact Assessment - 7 - 4. Recommendations - 7 - 5. Contact Us - 7 - 6. Appendix A - 8 - Comsearch Proprietary - 0 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project 1. Introduction In this report, Comsearch analyzed the off-air television stations whose service could potentially be affected by the proposed Crown City Wind Energy Project in Cortland County, New York. Off-air stations are television broadcasters that transmit signals that can be received directly on a television receiver from terrestrially located broadcast facilities. Comsearch examined the coverage of the off-air TV stations and the communities in the area that could potentially have degraded television reception because of the location of the proposed wind energy projects. 2. Summary of Results The proposed wind energy project area and local communities are depicted in Figure 1 on the next page. Comsearch Proprietary - 1 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project Figure 1: Wind Farm Project Area and Local Communities Comsearch Proprietary - 2 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project To begin the analysis, Comsearch compiled all off-air television stations 1 within 150 kilometers of the wind project area of interest (AOI). Appendix A contains a tabular summary of these stations. A plot depicting their locations appears in Figure 2, below. Figure 2: Plot of Off-Air TV Stations within 150 Kilometers of Project Area TV stations at a distance of 75 kilometers or less are the most likely to provide off-air coverage to the project areas and their neighboring communities. These stations are listed in Table 1, below, and a plot depicting these locations is provided in Figure 3. There are a total of sixty database records for stations within approximately 75 kilometers of the wind energy project. Of these stations, thirty-six are currently licensed and operating, twenty-four of which are low- 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 . Comsearch Proprietary - 3 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project 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. The twelve remaining operational stations in Table 1 broadcast at full power and are licensed under call signs WNYI, WSYT, WNYS-TV, WSYR-TV, WSTM-TV, WCNY-TV, WTVH, WSKG-TV, WIVT, WBNG-TV, WICZ-TV, and WSPX-TV. Figure 3: Plot of Off-Air TV Stations within 75 Kilometers of Project Area Comsearch Proprietary - 4 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project Distance to State / ID Call Sign Status 2 Service 2 Channel City Nearest Province Turbine (km) 1 WNYI CP MOD DT 20 ITHACA NY 9.71 2 WNYI LIC DT 20 ITHACA NY 9.71 3 WSYT LIC DT 19 SYRACUSE NY 26.30 4 WNYS-TV LIC DT 44 SYRACUSE NY 26.30 5 WSYR-TV LIC DT 17 SYRACUSE NY 30.50 6 WDSS-LP LIC TX 38 SYRACUSE NY 30.85 7 WDSS-LP APP LD 38 SYRACUSE NY 30.85 8 WDSS-LP CP LD 38 SYRACUSE NY 30.86 9 WDSS-LP APP LD 38 SYRACUSE NY 30.86 10 WSTM-TV LIC DT 24 SYRACUSE NY 30.95 11 WCNY-TV LIC DT 25 SYRACUSE NY 30.95 12 WTVH LIC DT 47 SYRACUSE NY 31.95 13 W07BJ LIC TX 7 ITHACA NY 35.42 14 W20BT LIC TX 20 ITHACA NY 36.91 15 NEW APP LD 27 ITHACA NY 36.91 16 WIXT-CA LIC CA 40 DEWITT NY 37.49 17 WIXT-CA CP DC 40 DEWITT NY 37.49 18 WNDR-LP LIC TX 49 SYRACUSE NY 37.71 19 WNDR-LP CP LD 49 SYRACUSE NY 37.71 20 W07BA LIC TX 7 SYRACUSE NY 38.65 21 W16AX LIC CA 16 ITHACA NY 39.23 22 W16AX APP DC 51 ITHACA NY 39.23 23 WNYI APP DM 20 ITHACA NY 39.23 24 W42EB-D CP TX 31 SYRACUSE NY 42.90 25 W42EB-D APP LD 42 SYRACUSE NY 42.90 26 W42EB-D LIC LD 42 SYRACUSE NY 42.90 27 WMBO-LP LIC TX 6 WESTVALE NY 44.07 28 WMBO-LP CP TX 6 WESTVALE NY 44.07 29 WONO-CA LIC CA 11 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 30 WBLZ-LP LIC TX 13 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 31 WSTQ-LP LIC TX 14 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 32 WTVU-LP LIC CA 22 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 33 WTVU-LP CP DC 22 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 2 Definitions of service and status codes: DT – Digital television broadcast station LD – Low power digital television broadcast station TX – Translator station CA – Class A analog television broadcast station DC – Class A digital television broadcast station LIC – Licensed and operational station CP – Construction permit granted CP MOD – Modification of construction permit APP – Application for construction permit, not yet operational Comsearch Proprietary - 5 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project Distance to State / ID Call Sign Status 2 Service 2 Channel City Nearest Province Turbine (km) 34 WTVU-LP APP DC 22 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 35 WTVU-LP APP DC 22 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 36 NEW APP LD 34 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 37 WOBX-LP LIC TX 35 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 38 WHSU-CA LIC CA 51 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 39 WHSU-CA CP DC 51 SYRACUSE NY 44.07 40 W48AO LIC TX 48 AUBURN NY 48.67 41 WNNY-LD CP LD 31 AUBURN NY 51.80 42 WNNY-LP LIC TX 6 AUBURN NY 51.96 43 WCUL-CA LIC CA 13 ONEIDA NY 53.55 44 WTKO-LP LIC TX 15 ONEIDA NY 53.55 45 WXXW-LP LIC TX 6 BINGHAMTON NY 57.89 46 WSKG-TV LIC DT 42 BINGHAMTON NY 61.75 47 WBGH-CA LIC CA 20 BINGHAMTON NY 61.81 48 WIVT LIC DT 34 BINGHAMTON NY 61.81 49 WBNG-TV LIC DT 7 BINGHAMTON NY 61.98 50 WICZ-TV LIC DT 8 BINGHAMTON NY 62.32 51 WBPN-LD CP LD 23 BINGHAMTON NY 62.32 52 W26BS LIC TX 26 BINGHAMTON NY 62.32 53 W26BS APP LD 26 BINGHAMTON NY 62.32 54 WBPN-LP LIC TX 10 MORRIS NY 62.32 55 WFXV APP DT 27 UTICA NY 62.64 56 W59DG CP LD 38 ELMIRA NY 65.46 57 WTKO-LP CP TX 32 SYLVAN BEACH NY 67.62 58 W31BP LIC TX 31 BURLINGTON NY 68.92 59 WSPX-TV LIC DT 15 SYRACUSE NY 70.42 60 DK02CG STA LD 40 WATKINS GLEN NY 74.93 Table 1: Off-Air TV Stations within 75 Kilometers of Project Area Comsearch Proprietary - 6 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project 3. Impact Assessment There are a significant number of full-power digital TV stations broadcasting to the communities in and around the project area. These stations are primarily located in Syracuse, Ithaca and Binghamton. The twelve full-power digital stations within 75 kilometers of the project boundary may have their reception disrupted in and around the turbines, or in locations on the opposite side of the project area relative to the station antennas. After the turbines are installed, communities and homes to the south of the project may have degraded reception of stations WNYI, WSYT, WNYS-TV, WSYR-TV, WSTM-TV, WCNY-TV, WTVH, and WSPX-TV, which are north of the project area. Similarly, stations WSKG-TV, WIVT, WBNG-TV, and WICZ-TV, which broadcast from south of the project area, may have diminished reception in communities directly to the north. However, the TV stations are geographically distributed around the project area so that no community should have all of its available off-air channels affected by the presence of the wind turbines. In addition, recent surveys of TV reception in the U.S. found that only 10% of households now rely solely on off-air television. TV cable service, where available, and direct broadcast satellite service (DBS) are more likely the dominant modes of service delivery. 4. Recommendations 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. 5. Contact Us For questions or information regarding the Off-Air TV Analysis, please contact: Contact person: Lester Polisky Title: Senior Principal Engineer Company: Comsearch Address: 19700 Janelia Farm Blvd., Ashburn, VA 20147 Telephone: 703-726-5860 Fax: 703-726-5595 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.comsearch.com Comsearch Proprietary - 7 - September 28, 2012 Air Energy TCI Inc Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Crown City Wind Energy Project 6.