Cape Cod Model Bylaws HVDC Converter Station Suggestions

Cape Cod Model Bylaws High Voltage Direct Current Converter Station Suggestions

# Rule: HVDC Converter Station permitting requires a Special Permit

Model bylaws address environmental impact and potential human effects.

The purpose of municipal bylaws is to ensure the safety, order, and welfare of the community. In addition, environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people.

Abutter Notification Documents: required

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, was proposed by offshore wind contractors on June 8, 2022, for a route through Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Cable routes up to 1200 megawatts will utilize state-of-the-art technology based on an HVDC voltage source converter station. The station converts high-voltage direct current to high-voltage alternating current.

Setbacks: use a 1/4 mile, (1320 feet ) buffer to analyze environmental impacts.

Regional review: Triggered if the site is more than one acre ( 43,560 square feet )

Noise study: Required regulatory noise and human annoyance (infrasound)

Electromagnetic Fields EMF study: Required

Note# 2005 study UK's Childhood Cancer Research Group and underwritten by the United Kingdom Department of Health Radiation Protection: "There is an association between childhood leukemia and proximity of home address at birth to high voltage power lines, and the apparent risk extends to a greater distance than would have been expected from previous studies" (Draper et al., 2005).

Mitigation plans: Radio interference (noise frequencies) is generated in HVDC converter stations due to the rapid breakdown of the voltages. High walls, metamaterial muffler, etc.

Containment - Protection of groundwater, aquifer, and reservoirs.

Fires, lightning: Fire department training in the event of a catastrophic fire. The interconnection of HVDC to the High Voltage Alternating Current system is very complex.

Special permit granting authority (SPGA) shall be the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Board, and the Board of Selectmen.