Resolution might halt commercial wind energy 

Last week the Henry County Board of Supervisors held two courtesy readings of a resolution establishing a temporary moratorium on rezoning land to an Alternative Overlay District for commercial wind energy use.

The resolution, which supervisors stated was written by the county attorney, would establish a temporary moratorium on the rezoning of any land to the Alternative Overlay District through March 2, 2025, unless extended or shortened by the Board of Supervisors. According to the resolution this is to allow the Henry County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Henry County Board of Supervisors adequate time to further consider proposed changes to the current Alternative Energy Systems.

If passed, this resolution means wind energy companies will not be able to apply for needed rezoning until the moratorium expires or the supervisors end the moratorium upon completion of amendments to the ordinance. Until that time, no commercial wind energy conversion systems will be able to build in the county. If approved, the resolution would take effect immediately.

According to the resolution this moratorium would go into effect because “Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems may affect the character of the surrounding area and the board desires that all applications for Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems be considered consistently within the purpose and intent of the Henry County Zoning Ordinance so that the most appropriate uses of land are encouraged throughout unincorporated Henry County.”

The time allotted through the moratorium would be used to “explore the possibilities of changing the approval requirements for Alternative Energy Production,” which could possibly result in needed amendments to the current ordinance.

Additional reasoning from the resolution included the fact that Henry County is currently in the process of updating the County Comprehensive Plan and “said process will involve multiple public input sessions to hear valuable county resident opinions on Alternative Energy.”

While Supervisor Chad White asked if the resolution should include a moratorium on solar energy during the first reading, Supervisor Marc Lindeen stated that “because the setback is completely different for solar,” the county attorney instructed the board to begin working on a different resolution for solar energy at the second reading later the same week.

According to Lindeen, if the resolution passes, the next step will begin with the county’s planning and zoning commission starting their due diligence. Lindeen stated this work will include information gathering and continuing their work on the comprehensive plan which the supervisors asked them to review last summer.

During the first reading, Supervisor Greg Moeller kept the conversation minimal and focused solely on the resolution in front of the board. At the second, however, Moeller was not present, and citizens expressed more opinions, including gratitude for pursuing the moratorium.

“Thank you for slowing this thing down and thinking it through and getting the details,” one attendee commented after the second reading.

This resolution, prepared by the county attorney, comes to the board in light of considerable conversations surrounding the topic of wind energy possibly coming to the northern part of Henry County.

According to Lindeen, RWE Renewables, a global renewable energy company, approached the supervisors two years ago to inform them of their intention to survey the county as a possible local for a wind farm.

Since then, RWE Renewables has placed information gathering beacons and already signed contracts with over 60 landowners in Henry County. However, upon request from the supervisors to receive input from county residents as they reviewed the current county ordinance for alternative energy, they have received many negative comments about adding a wind farm.

With the loudest voices from county landowners producing negative comments about the prospect of a wind farm, the supervisors chose to slow the process down altogether.

Lindeen stated that one concern moving forward with changes to the county ordinance revolve around the issue of bonding.

“That’s my biggest concern,” Lindeen said about bonding. “I have a lot of concerns, but that is my biggest concern.”

The Henry County Board of Supervisors introduced the resolution with a courtesy first reading at their Tuesday, March 26 meeting and read it for a second time Thursday, March 28 with intentions of reading it a final third time the following week to officially approve or deny the resolution.

To submit additional comments, the supervisors encourage citizens reach out to the board via email at supervisors@henrycountyiowa.us. Emails received by the supervisors will be passed along to the Planning and Zoning Director and commission for consideration as they move forward with amending the current alternative energy ordinances for the county.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com