Amid all the talk of wind turbines in the city of Austin, one City Council member wants to slow down and study an option she thinks is being overlooked.

Marian Clennon, the Ward 3 councilwoman also running for mayor, said she doesn’t think roof-mounted wind turbines are being looked at closely enough as the city works on enacting an ordinance to address wind turbine construction across Austin.

Because of this perceived oversight, Clennon, on June 7, voted against a draft ordinance that would have allowed turbines in industrial and commercial areas — provided certain parameters were met and a permit obtained — but not in neighborhoods. School zones would be exempt from the residential restriction.

The councilwoman also voted against a previous version of the ordinance that would have allowed turbines in residential areas, with conditions. The driving force behind both ‘nay’ votes, Clennon said, was the lack of language addressing roof-mounted turbines.

“My main thing is that I’m a big proponent of rooftop (turbines),” the councilwoman said after the June 7 meeting. “It might be something in the future that can be brought up again.”

Currently, rooftop turbines make up a very small market, but one that could be growing. Ron Stimmel, an advocate of small wind systems at the American Wind Energy Association, said that only about 1 percent of the 10,000 small turbines sold each year in the U.S. are of the rooftop variety, although he said interest has been increasing.

Despite an increased interest, Stimmel said he doesn’t necessarily see the industry booming, if only because of the number of obstacles facing rooftop turbines. A main obstacle is inconsistent wind patterns around homes and buildings, resulting in inconsistent energy output.

“It’s probably most important to not set expectations too high,” Stimmel said of homeowners considering rooftop turbines.

For a homeowner that does decide to get a residential turbine, Stimmel and the AWEA recommend that the bottom of the turbine rotor be at least 30 feet above any obstacle, like a tree or another house, that is within 500 feet. Doing so maximizes the energy potential of a turbine, Stimmel said.

However, this recommendation would create another problem in light of the proposed ordinance in Austin. As the ordinance stands now, turbines in industrial or commercial areas would have to be at least 1.1 times their height away from a property line. Under previous drafts, this same stipulation was applied to potential turbines in neighborhoods, and would likely still apply if full-residential turbine construction was ever to be permitted.

Because of this parameter — which city zoning director Craig Hoium said is largely a safety measure to address turbines possibly being flung around during storms — people who put up turbines would either need large enough yards to accommodate taller structures, or would need to build shorter, less-efficient systems.

“(In cities), it’s just a lot harder to get the space you need,” Stimmel said.

With technology always advancing, there may come a day when shorter turbines become more efficient. Clennon said because of this, she’d like to remain open to revisiting the ordinance down the road.

For now, however, it appears as if the current version of the ordinance will pass. It received a 5-2 vote on its first reading June 7, falling just short of the required unanimous support. However, because that same draft will be before council again on Monday, only a majority vote will be required, and it appears that other council members will stick with their previous votes.

Those in support on June 7 called the version a good compromise, noting that is would allow schools to put up turbines for educational use but would also appease residents concerned with towers going up in their “backyards.”

While the ordinance might not make everyone happy, it would be a start. Stimmel for one said he doesn’t think it makes sense to restrict turbines from residential areas, but he acknowledged that just having an ordinance on the books is important.

“Permitting is really the last remaining market barrier for small wind energy,” he said.