Published
A household wind turbine is permitted in every district. Two miles of scenic byway is the catch.
The county has a wind ordinance, and small systems are Class I
Corridor acreage is windy, power is a long way off on some of it, and the question comes up more than you would expect: can you put up a turbine? Fremont County has an appendix for exactly this, and the answer for a household-scale machine is more accommodating than most people assume.
Everything turns on which side of a single definition you fall.
| Small wind energy system | Large wind energy system | |
|---|---|---|
| Who the power is for | Generates electricity for private use | Generates electricity for one or multiple off-site customers |
| Tower height | Maximum 100 feet | More than 100 feet |
| Capacity | Not greater than 100 kW | Greater than 100 kW |
| Permit route | Not more than two towers is permitted through a Class I permit in all zoning districts | Prohibited in Fremont County (1.04.010) |
The right-hand column is worth reading twice. A large wind energy system is not a harder permit here; section 1.04.010 says plainly that large wind energy systems are prohibited in Fremont County. Everything below is about the small, private-use system, because that is the only kind the county allows.
The phrase to notice on the left is in all zoning districts. A small system is not confined to particular ground — it is available across the county's districts, subject to the appendix's standards. That is an unusually open starting position for a structure of that size, and it is why the limits that follow do the real work.
Two places where the answer is no, whatever the setback allows
Before measuring anything, check these. Appendix R closes two areas outright, and one of them runs straight through this corridor.
“Wind energy systems shall be prohibited within two (2) miles of scenic highway corridors or on sites listed on the State or National Registers of Historic Places.”
— Fremont County Development Code, 2011 Edition (Ordinance 2011-04), Appendix R, section 1.03.110. Consolidated through Ordinance 2026-03. Retrieved 2 September 2026
- Within two miles of a scenic highway corridor. Two miles is a long way, and the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway runs out of Ashton, so a good deal of corridor ground sits inside that band. The code does not define which routes count, which makes this a question for Planning with a parcel number rather than one to settle off a map.
- On a site listed on the State or National Registers of Historic Places. Rarer, and easy to check before anything else is spent.
Ask the scenic-corridor question first. It is the cheapest question in the sequence and the only one that can end the project outright, no matter how much room the setback circle has.
Two definitions make the rest readable. Total height is the vertical distance from ground level to the tip of a blade when the tip is at its highest point — so it is measured to the blade, not to the hub or the tower top. And a tower is the monopole, freestanding or guyed structure supporting the generator.
“Small Wind Energy System containing not more than two (2) wind towers shall be permitted through a Class I permit in all zoning districts subject to the standards of this [Appendix]… The tower shall be set back a minimum distance equal to its total height from… all property lines.”
— Fremont County Development Code, 2011 Edition (Ordinance 2011-04), Appendix R, sections 1.03.010 and 1.03.020. Consolidated through Ordinance 2026-03. Retrieved 1 September 2026
The setback is the height, measured to every property line
The controlling dimension is elegantly simple and it is the one that decides feasibility on a given parcel.
The tower must be set back a minimum distance equal to its total height from, among other things, all property lines. A hundred-foot machine needs a hundred feet of clearance to every boundary — which means it needs to sit inside a circle of that radius, and that is a real constraint on a narrow parcel however many acres it contains.
There is relief available, and it is worth knowing about: abutting property owners may grant easements reducing this setback. That turns an impossible siting into a conversation with a neighbour, and it is the kind of provision that goes unused simply because nobody reads far enough to find it.
Alongside the setback, the appendix carries the ordinary safety and identification standards:
- The tower must be designed and installed so it does not provide step bolts or a ladder readily accessible to the public for a minimum height of twelve feet above the ground. This is an anti-climb rule about the tower, not a blade-clearance rule — the code sets no minimum blade height.
- An identifying sign for the manufacturer or installer, permitted at not greater than six square feet.
- Compliance with applicable local construction codes and state and National electrical codes.
- Building permit applications — the turbine is a structure and goes through the building side as well as the land use side.
What else gets considered, and why it matters here
Appendix R does not sit alone. The appendix directs attention to a set of other considerations, and the list is short but consequential for this part of the county.
It names the Airport Overlay (Chapter 6), Appendix H noise standards, and wildlife, bird migration patterns and bats.
Each of those is a genuine gate rather than a courtesy:
- Airport overlay. Where a site falls within the airport overlay district, height is governed by that chapter as well. A turbine is a tall structure and height surfaces are exactly what an airport overlay exists to protect, so the overlay is the first thing to check on any site near an airfield.
- Noise. The general county noise standard applies, and a turbine is a permanent rather than temporary source, so it is measured against the ordinary limits at the receiving property line — including the lower overnight figure, which is when a turbine is just as likely to be turning.
- Wildlife and birds. Named explicitly. On a corridor with substantial migratory traffic this is not a formality, and it is better raised early than discovered late.
The noise point deserves emphasis because it is the one most likely to be underestimated. A turbine runs at night, and the night-time limit is the tighter one. Siting that satisfies the daytime figure comfortably may not satisfy the overnight figure, and the setback that satisfies the structural rule is not automatically the setback that satisfies the acoustic one.
A met tower is its own thing
Before a turbine there is usually a question about whether the wind resource justifies one, and the appendix defines the equipment used to answer it. A meteorological tower includes the tower, base plate, anchors, guy cables and hardware, anemometers, wind direction vanes, booms, data logger, instrument wiring, and any telemetry devices used to monitor or transmit wind speed and flow characteristics — either for instantaneous information or to characterise the wind resource at a location over time.
The reason the code defines it separately is that it is a separate structure with its own presence on the site, and the honest sequence on a real project is to measure first. A turbine chosen from a map of average regional wind is a turbine chosen from the wrong data.
Working out whether it is possible on your ground
- Decide first whether the power is for private use. That single fact separates the small-system route from the large one and everything else follows from it.
- Check the total height against 100 feet, measuring to the blade tip at its highest point rather than to the hub.
- Check capacity against 100 kW, and count the towers — the Class I route covers not more than two.
- Draw the setback circle at a radius equal to total height and see whether it fits inside your boundaries. This is where most parcels either work or do not.
- If it does not fit, talk to the abutting owner about an easement, since the appendix expressly contemplates one.
- Check the airport overlay before anything else if the site is anywhere near an airfield, because a height restriction there is not negotiable by easement.
- Model the noise against the overnight limit at the nearest receiving property line, not the daytime one.
- Budget for a building permit and code compliance alongside the land use permit, and for a met tower first if the resource has never been measured.
The summary is encouraging. A household turbine is a permitted use across the county's districts through a Class I permit, and the binding constraint is almost always geometry rather than permission — whether a circle the height of the machine fits inside your own boundaries. That is a question you can answer on a plat in an afternoon, before spending anything, which puts it in the same category as the other early checks in what differs lot to lot along the corridor.
Common questions
Can I put a wind turbine on my property in Fremont County?
A small wind energy system containing not more than two wind towers is permitted through a Class I permit in all zoning districts, subject to Appendix R's standards. A small system generates electricity for private use.
What makes a wind system small rather than large?
A small wind energy system is used to generate electricity for private use, has a maximum tower height of 100 feet, and has generating capacity not greater than 100 kW. A large system serves off-site customers or exceeds those thresholds.
How far from the property line does a turbine have to be?
The tower must be set back a minimum distance equal to its total height from all property lines. A hundred-foot machine needs a hundred feet of clearance to every boundary.
Can the setback be reduced?
Yes. Abutting property owners may grant easements reducing the setback, which is worth knowing because on a narrow parcel the setback circle is usually what decides feasibility.
How is total height measured?
Total height is the vertical distance from ground level to the tip of a wind generator blade when the tip is at its highest point — measured to the blade rather than to the hub or the top of the tower.
Does the code set a minimum blade clearance?
No. The twelve-foot figure in Appendix R is an anti-climb rule, not a blade rule: the tower must be designed and installed so it does not provide step bolts or a ladder readily accessible to the public for a minimum height of twelve feet above the ground. Blade height is governed instead by the total-height limit, which is measured to the blade tip at its highest point.
Are there places on the corridor where a turbine is simply not allowed?
Yes, and it is the first thing to check. Appendix R 1.03.110 prohibits wind energy systems within two miles of scenic highway corridors, and on sites listed on the State or National Registers of Historic Places. Much of the Ashton corridor sits near the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, so confirm the distance with Planning before spending anything on a design.
Do noise rules apply to a turbine?
Yes. Appendix R directs attention to the county's noise standards. Because a turbine is a permanent source that runs at night, the tighter overnight limit at the receiving property line is usually the governing figure rather than the daytime one.
What if my land is near an airport?
Appendix R names the Airport Overlay in Chapter 6 among the matters to be considered. A turbine is a tall structure and airport overlays exist to protect height surfaces, so the overlay should be checked before anything else on a site near an airfield.
What is a met tower?
A meteorological tower — the tower, base plate, anchors, guy cables, anemometers, wind vanes, booms, data logger, wiring and telemetry used to monitor wind speed and flow, either instantaneously or to characterise the wind resource at a site over time.