Linn County supervisors likely to OK new utility-scale wind rules

CEDAR RAPIDS — The three-member Linn County Board of Supervisors on Monday increased noise levels allowed for utility-scale wind installations, strengthened debris cleanup requirements and made other tweaks before the panel soon adopts new wind energy project regulations.

The supervisors have not given final approval to the code changes yet, but have signaled unanimous support when it comes before the board for adoption Wednesday.

The board’s lone Republican, Supervisor Louie Zumbach — a Coggon farmer — has said wind turbines are less disruptive to agriculture than utility-scale solar projects and so he favors them as a renewable energy source.

Iowa is a national leader in wind energy with about 6,000 turbines that generate more than 60 percent of the state’s net electricity. But there are no existing operational utility-scale wind projects in Linn County — only some stand-alone turbines like at Kirkwood Community College, according to Planning and Development Director Charlie Nichols.

Other Iowa counties recently had paused approvals of new large-scale wind projects, including Muscatine and Washington counties, to allow time to make wind energy code changes. The Iowa Utilities Commission doesn’t maintain data on how many such moratoriums are in effect, but checks county ordinances when reviewing an electric generating certificate docket application.

Similarly, Linn County in 2022 had enacted a moratorium pausing new utility-grade solar projects while exploring tighter regulations. Those code changes were adopted last summer. The pause expired, allowing new solar arrays to be proposed — including an application expected in the months ahead for a solar installation south of Center Point.

There are not currently any large-scale wind energy projects on the horizon in Linn County, Nichols has said. Changing code language now will better prepare the county to consider any potential wind projects that may arise.

Policy changes

Ordinance changes take three votes to be considered final. The final consideration is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday during the supervisors’ meeting at the Jean Oxley Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW in Cedar Rapids.

Residents may view a draft of the proposed ordinance amendments on the Linn County website at linncountyiowa.gov.

The county Planning and Zoning Commission in May recommended approving the ordinance language in a 4-1 vote. The one vote opposing the changes was from a commission member who felt the proposed noise requirements were too restrictive, Nichols has said.

When advancing the ordinance changes on first consideration in June, supervisors directed staff to modify language on noise levels, setback requirements and debris cleanup.

Noise levels increased

Initially proposed ordinance language would require that wind projects not exceed 45 decibels from a property line. With Monday’s approved changes, the noise levels were increased to 55 decibels. Nichols previously said that level falls between moderate rainfall and a normal conversation.

Renewable energy advocates had suggested supervisors set higher allowable noise levels more in line with other municipalities’ wind ordinances. The higher noise level would be less restrictive to those pursuing potential wind projects.

Setback requirements

Setback requirements call for turbines on parcels of participants in a wind project to be at least two times the total turbine height from the exterior edge of the tower base to an occupied structure. The changes cut the 1,000-foot minimum requirement.

Participating landowners may waive a setback in writing with Board of Supervisors’ approval. The turbine cannot be placed closer than 1.1 times the total turbine height to any occupied structure.

Requirements are similar for non-participating property owners around a wind project, except setbacks must be measured from the property line, not the dwelling.

Debris cleanup, decommissioning language

Under the proposal, Linn County will require two financial instruments for utility-scale wind projects.

One is a decommissioning bond that would cover the cost of taking the project down when it reaches the end of its life cycle.

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The other covers the cost of cleaning up the project in the event of a disaster. This bond is 150 percent the amount of the decommissioning bond.

Nichols shared feedback from MidAmerican Energy, which owns and operates wind projects in Iowa and across the Midwest, stating that a 50 percent contingency on top of the decommissioning bond was “excessive and would be a financial burden on the company.”

Supervisors and staff felt debris cleanup language was necessary to protect the county should a large-scale wind project sustain damage. They pointed to lightning-damaged turbines on a Mechanicsville farmer’s property as an example of how severe weather can damage turbines and why the county’s policy needed strong language to clarify debris cleanup responsibilities.

Lightning strikes there caused a wind turbine fire twice in 14 months, leaving fiberglass strewn across the farmer’s and neighbor’s properties.

Supervisor Ben Rogers said that was an isolated incident, but these projects differ from large-scale solar installations with how they’re disposed and the cleanup costs. The worsening frequency of severe weather, fueled by the human-caused climate crisis, warrants strong cleanup language, he said.

“Our charge is to ensure a balance. We’ve made a commitment here in Linn County to renewable energy … but our main focus is on protection of the county in the future, that taxpayers aren’t left holding the bag” for entities and that the land “can be used again.”

The supervisors are looking to protect landowners and neighbors as best as possible by creating incentives for the owner and operator to clean it up in an acceptable, timely manner, Rogers said.

Drafting a policy that encourages wind energy is “balanced with protections for landowners to ensure that there’s financial incentive for the owners and operators to act in good faith,” he said.

Supervisor Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt said she visited the Mechanicsville farm to see the wind turbine debris on a windy day, when the fiberglass was blowing around the property. It was “remarkable” how vast the debris field was, she said, but didn’t change that it was important for the county to stay committed to renewable energy.

“We can do it in a way that protects Linn County residents and neighbors,” Running-Marquardt said. “ … We can be a renewable energy hub for not only the state but the Midwest.”

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