February 23, 2020
Iowa

Evening meeting set for Taylor County wind turbine ordinance

Mike Peterson | KMA | Feb 21, 2020 | www.kmaland.com

(Bedford) – Taylor County residents have one more chance to speak out on proposed regulations for wind turbine production.

A third public hearing on the proposed ordinance is set for Monday evening at 6:30 at the United Christian Presbyterian Church in Bedford. Taylor County’s Board of Supervisors set the hearing after the previous two events drew large crowds in the courthouse’s board room in Bedford. Supervisors’ Chair Charles Ambrose tells KMA News the board set an evening meeting based on popular demand.

“There were several people that expressed their opinion that to have all the meetings at 10 o’clock in the morning on a workday made it impossible for some people that might have input–positive or negative–to make the meetings because they were working,” said Ambrose. “So, we decided in order to give people the opportunity to speak that might have it, that we would have this third meeting.”

In an earlier interview, Ambrose says the supervisors began exploring the ordinance after Invenergy, LLC announced plans to build 41 wind turbines in the county’s southwest portion.

“When they first started considering projects in Taylor County,” he said, “the supervisors felt like that was an agreement between the landowners and the wind turbine companies. We wanted to maintain as low of a profile as possible. Then after things started to proceed, we realized that there were certain checks and balances and safeguards that we needed to look into to protect the public interest, and the county’s interest in these projects.”

Additionally, the county entered into an agreement with Invenergy as part of an initiative called Contrail Wind Project LLC. Among other things, the ordinance sets specific setback regulations–similar to those in place in other area counties.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/02/23/evening-meeting-set-for-taylor-county-wind-turbine-ordinance/