Linn County supervisors advance revised solar ordinance

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Linn County Board of Supervisors unanimously advanced on second consideration Wednesday tighter restrictions in its ordinance governing utility-scale solar projects.

The three-member board is one step closer to officially adopting new language and a score card that is proposed to be used to assess utility-scale solar project applications.

Last October, supervisors adopted a moratorium pausing new solar project applications, which is slated to expire after Sept. 30, while the previous ordinance was under review. County staff have been working since last year to create new language.

The changes won’t apply to previously approved projects. The supervisors in 2022 approved three controversial utility-grade solar installations — one near Coggon and two related projects near Palo.

The 640-acre site near Coggon is developed by Idaho-based Clenera and the Central Iowa Power Cooperative. There also is a total of over 1,000 acres for two projects from NextEra near the decommissioned Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear plant near Palo.

Earlier this year, four renewable energy review committees met and created statements that guided county staff’s ordinance changes on four areas: good neighbor practices, battery energy storage systems, life cycle costs and balancing agriculture and solar.

The supervisors last week unanimously passed the new ordinance on first consideration, with some changes left to be worked on by staff.

Under the proposed ordinance, setbacks must be at least 50 feet from property lines and 300 feet from dwellings unless waived by the property owner. It requires screening within 1,000 feet of the project and noise levels not exceeding 55 decibels.

Applicants would have to provide plans for operation and maintenance, agricultural impact and decommissioning and site restoration, as well as emergency response for a battery energy storage system. Developers seeking rezoning would face notification requirements to inform property owners and tenants of the proposed project.

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Planning and Development Director Charlie Nichols shared changes to the proposed ordinance since the supervisors’ first consideration Sept. 5.

Solar panel height would be 24 inches at maximum tilt instead of the initially approved 32 inches. Feedback has been mixed on whether that’s too low — not allowing enough space for vegetative growth; or too high, adding to the cost to build such a project.

Noise would be measured from the occupied dwelling instead of the property line. Some were concerned a dwelling may be far away, especially in rural areas.

Soil sampling will be required once every five years, but the county still would ask for pre- and post-construction soil samples to establish a baseline.

The supervisors are still exploring — and seeking public feedback — on language surrounding requirements to repair public infrastructure such as drainageways. They are considering whether to require the developer to acknowledge and submit a plan for a needed repair within a certain window, potentially 72 hours.

“We don’t want perfect to be the enemy of good, but we are trying to get this as reasonable and balanced as appropriate,” Supervisor Ben Rogers said.

Kimberly Dickey, the project director for Duane Arnold Solar, said NextEra is in the process of putting forms online so drainage issues can be shared by the public or county with construction and operations teams. Through that mechanism, she said the developer can acknowledge the problem and put a plan in place to address it.

When the supervisors meet for the third and final ordinance reading next week, they also will consider adopting the score card. Under the draft score card, developers of a utility-scale solar installation would need 100 points for a project to pass.

Points would be given based on factors including but not limited to having an approved vegetation plan and agricultural impact mitigation plan; locating the site in a medium or high Corn Suitability Rating Area, with more points being deducted the higher the rating; and use of agrivoltaic practices — combining crops and solar — on the site.

Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt asked whether there was a way to explore how to encourage use of local labor. Nichols said the county can’t legally require local labor, but he said he will further discuss options with the county attorney’s office.

The final reading is slated for the supervisors’ 10 a.m. Sept. 20 meeting in the formal boardroom of the Jean Oxley Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW in Cedar Rapids.

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