Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air TV Analysis Galloo Island Wind Project Prepared on Behalf of Galloo Island Wind, LLC July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project Table of Contents 1. Introduction - 1 - 2. Summary of Results - 1 - 3. Impact Assessment - 4 - 4. Recommendations - 5 - 5. Contact - 6 - 6. Appendix A - 7 - Comsearch Proprietary - 0 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project 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 Galloo Island Wind Project in Jefferson County, New York. 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 Comsearch Proprietary - 1 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project To begin the analysis, Comsearch compiled all off-air television stations1 within 150 kilometers of the center of the 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 area and neighboring communities. These stations are listed in Tables 1 and 2, and a plot depicting their locations is provided in Figure 3. There are a total of eleven database records for stations within approximately 75 kilometers of the project AOI, nine in the United States and two in Canada. Only eight of these stations are currently licensed and operational, one of which, WTKJ-LP, is a translator station that broadcasts with limited range. The seven 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 - 2 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project remaining records in represent stations U.S. full-power digital stations WWNY-TV, WBPS-DT, WWTI, and WSPX-TV; U.S. Class A digital station WNYF-CD; and Canadian VHF stations CKWS-DT and CJOH-TV-6. Figure 3: Plot of Off-Air TV Stations within 75 Kilometers of Project Area Comsearch Proprietary - 3 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project Transmit Distance to Latitude Longitude ID Call Sign Status Service2 Channel ERP3 Nearest (NAD 27) (NAD 27) (kW) Turbine (km) 1 WTKJ-LP LIC TX 19 6.3 43.967778 -75.806111 46.41 2 WTKJ-LP CP LD 19 1.5 43.967778 -75.806111 46.41 3 WNNY-LD CP LD 39 3.5 43.476667 -76.278889 47.67 4 WWNY-TV LIC DT 7 42.0 43.954167 -75.729167 52.42 5 WNYF-CD LIC DC 35 15.0 43.954167 -75.729167 52.42 6 WPBS-DT LIC DT 41 40.0 43.862778 -75.727500 52.84 7 WWTI LIC DT 21 25.0 43.879722 -75.720000 53.24 8 W45EI-D CP MOD LD 45 5.0 44.170583 -75.676417 62.92 9 WSPX-TV LIC DT 15 49.0 43.305000 -76.050000 71.99 Table 1: Off-Air TV Stations within 75 Kilometers of Project Area (United States) Transmit Distance to Latitude Latitude ID Call Sign Status Class4 Channel ERP Nearest (NAD 83) (NAD 83) (kW) Turbine (km) C1 CKWS-DT OP R 11 9.4 44.167222 -76.427500 27.49 C2 CJOH-TV-6 OP R 6 100.0 44.141667 -77.075833 57.84 Table 2: Off-Air TV Stations within 75 Kilometers of Project Area (Canada) 3. Impact Assessment Based on a contour analysis of the licensed stations within 75 kilometers of the Galloo Island Wind Project, it was determined that three of the four U.S. full-power digital stations, WWNY-TV, WPBS-DT, and WWTI, as well as Canadian station CKWS-DT, may have their reception disrupted in and around the project area. The areas primarily affected would include TV service locations within 10 kilometers of the wind energy project that have clear line-of-sight (LOS) to a proposed wind turbine but not to the respective station. After the wind turbines are installed, 2 Definitions of service and status codes: DT – Digital television broadcast station DC – Class A digital television broadcast station LD – Low power digital television broadcast station TX – Translator station LIC – Licensed and operational station CP – Construction permit granted CP MOD – Modification of construction permit 3 ERP = Transmit Effective Radiated Power 4 Definitions of Canadian class and status codes: R – Regular VHF Television Broadcast Station OP – Licensed and operational station Comsearch Proprietary - 4 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project 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. However, based on the low number of full-power TV channels available in the immediate vicinity of the project area, it is unlikely that off-air television stations are the primary mode of television service for the local communities. TV cable service, where available, and direct broadcast satellite service (DBS) are more likely the dominant modes of service delivery. In addition, the insular nature of the proposed wind farm location and the fact that Galloo Island itself does not have any permanent residents further diminish the likelihood that the impacted areas are served by off-air television. Notwithstanding, due to the highly reflective nature of the water that surrounds the project area, the issue of signal scattering is only exacerbated. 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 stations mentioned above, especially those that would have line-of-sight to at least one wind turbine but not to a respective 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. Comsearch Proprietary - 5 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project 5. Contact For questions or information regarding the Off-Air TV Analysis, please contact: Contact person: Denise Finney Title: Account Manager Company: Comsearch Address: 19700 Janelia Farm Blvd., Ashburn, VA 20147 Telephone: 703-726-5650 Fax: 703-726-5595 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.comsearch.com Comsearch Proprietary - 6 - July 26, 2016 Galloo Island Wind, LLC Wind Power GeoPlanner™ Off-Air Television Report Galloo Island Wind Project Appendix A Transmit Distance to Latitude Longitude ID Call Sign Status Service5 Channel ERP6 Nearest (NAD 27) (NAD 27) (kW) Turbine (km) 1 WTKJ-LP LIC TX 19 6.3 43.967778 -75.806111 46.41 2 WTKJ-LP CP LD 19 1.5 43.967778 -75.806111 46.41 3 WNNY-LD CP LD 39 3.5 43.476667 -76.278889 47.67 4 WWNY-TV LIC DT 7 42.0 43.954167 -75.729167 52.42 5 WNYF-CD LIC DC 35 15.0 43.954167 -75.729167 52.42 6 WPBS-DT LIC DT 41 40.0 43.862778 -75.727500 52.84 7 WWTI LIC DT 21 25.0 43.879722 -75.720000 53.24 8 W45EI-D CP MOD LD 45 5.0 44.170583 -75.676417 62.92 9 WSPX-TV LIC DT 15 49.0 43.305000 -76.050000 71.99 10 WNGF-LP LIC TX 9 0.1 44.329722 -75.455833 86.89 11 WNGF-LP CP LD 9 0.25 44.329722 -75.455833 86.89 12 WCUL-LD CP LD 32 2.25 43.246111 -75.773611 88.86 13 WVOA-LP LIC TX 6 0.3 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 14 WVOA-LP CP TX 6 3.0 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 15 WNNY-LP LIC TX 13 3.0 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 16 WSTQ-LP LIC TX 14 9.8 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 17 WTVU-CD LIC DC 22 15.0 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 18 WWLF-LP LIC TX 35 4.92 43.058333 -76.166667 94.99 19 WWLF-LP CP LD 32 2.5 43.058250 -76.166722 95.00 20 WONO-CD LIC DC 34 2.8 43.058250 -76.166722 95.00 21 WBLZ-LP APP LD 49 7.0 43.058250 -76.166722 95.00 22 WHSU-CD LIC DC 51 6.7 43.058250 -76.166722 95.00 23 W42EB-D LIC LD 42 12.3 43.050000 -76.151111 96.18 24 WBLZ-LP LIC TX 49 13.4 43.005278 -76.130000 101.41 25 WBLZ-LP CP LD 49 13.4 43.005278 -76.130000 101.41 26 WIXT-CD LIC DC 40 1.0 43.006944 -76.093889 101.97 27 WMBO-LP LIC TX 6 1.45 42.951944