Supervisors Approve Half Mile Setback for Wind Turbines

SIGOURNEY – During the Oct. 7 meeting of the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors, the board approved new wind turbine ordinances that prevent turbines from being built within half a mile of an occupied structure. Similar ordinances passed in Jefferson County led wind farm company Apex Clean Energy to completely abandon plans to build a wind farm in that county, meaning it is likely these ordinances will prevent any turbines from being built in Keokuk County.

During the public comment before the vote, an attendee asked if the board would compromise and set a smaller setback distance. He explained that he lived near the border of Wapello, where another wind farm is planned, and would have to deal with wind turbines anyway, and that he hated to miss out on the opportunity. Supervisor Mike Hadley stated that they would not change the ordinances for just one person. The attendee stated the county would miss out on a lot of tax revenue by not allowing wind turbines. Hadley noted that a new supervisor would take office in January, and that he was planning to retire in two years, meaning that a new board could change the ordinances in the future. Another attendee who showed up later requested the setback be set to 1,500-1,700 feet.

Another attendee asked if these restrictions were the same as hog buildings. Wood stated that the setback for hog buildings depends on herd size and that the state requires a half mile setback for 1,000 or more hogs, even if split between multiple buildings. Wood stated he was surprised that the Iowa government hadn’t implemented statewide wind turbine ordinances, which would override county ordinances, and that energy companies wanted statewide ordinances instead of every county being different.

Wood noted that Apex is not a public utility, meaning they cannot use eminent domain to get right aways to place underground power lines. He speculated that, if the wind farm had been built, Apex would have sold it to MidAmerican Energy, who can use eminent domain. He stated that this couldn’t happen because the wind turbines had not been built.

Ultimately, Wood and Hadley both voted Yes for the wind turbine ordinances. Supervisor Fred Snakenberg voted No, saying “You’re affecting the income of taxpayers. What I do with my 40 acres should be up to me.”

The supervisors also approved purchasing a pendulum seeder for the highway department. $4,000 of the seeder’s cost will be paid by a Living Roadway Trust grant the county received and the remaining $1,600 will be matched by the county.