Wind Power News: Iowa
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Industrial wind turbines hurt rural economic development
Iowa is an agricultural state that produces corn, beans, and livestock, and we feed the world. Our agricultural productivity is the engine of all Iowa communities and businesses. Wind energy is not an agricultural commodity as hogs, cattle, and grain are. It is not a product that supports rural economic development. It does not revitalize communities, it damages them. Around the world, industrial wind turbines have driven people away from homes due to their noise, flicker, and adverse health effects. . . . Complete story »
Billion dollar renewable energy line developer to hold public meetings in North Iowa
Almost three years after developers for Direct Connect Development Co. first moved toward an energy transmission line that would run from Mason City to Chicago, residents across North Iowa will be able to weigh in on the multi-billion dollar project. Over the course of the next week-plus, planners of the SOO Green HVDC Link will hold hour-and-a-half-long meetings in eight towns, including Charles City, Mason City and New Hampton, where landowners and community members can share their thoughts, ask questions . . . Complete story »
Evening meeting set for Taylor County wind turbine ordinance
(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 . . . Complete story »
South Carolina company eyeing Boone for wind energy project
Apex Clean Energy is working out the kinks with Boone County in a 30-year investment in wind energy called “The Great Pathfinder Wind Project”. “A wind farm will bring a great stream of tax revenue for the city, the county, for roads and schools,” Max Jabrixio, Public Engagement Manager with Apex Clean Energy said. Upon completion of this project, Jabrixio said it would produce up to 225 megawatts of total energy in northern Boone. In order to make a project . . . Complete story »
Taylor County holds wind turbine ordinance hearing
(Bedford) – “An interesting meeting”–that’s how one Taylor County official described the first of two public hearings on a proposed wind turbine ordinance. Feedback pro and con on the proposed ordinance was aired during the hearing at the county courthouse’s courtroom Monday morning. Taylor County Supervisors Chair Charles Ambrose tells KMA News the proposed ordinance sets “straightforward” regulations regarding the construction and operation of turbines in the county. “It deals with such things as setbacks, separation distances from lakes and churches, . . . Complete story »
Tally of Turtle Creek Wind Farm Project road damage: $746,152
County Engineer Rich Brumm presented the Mitchell County Board of Supervisors with an estimate of $746,152 for road damage caused by the Turtle Creek Wind Farm Project at the board’s meeting last week. The damages were incurred by heavy traffic on both gravel and hard surface roads during the construction phase of the Turtle Creek Wind Farm Project. The company had asked Brumm for an estimate. “It took a lot of time to develop an estimate, and I wanted to . . . Complete story »
‘Greed’ in the easement business
Kim Brenneman in a recent issue of IFT hit the nail squarely on the head when dealing with the snake oil salesmen of the wind industry convincing landowners to sell easements for wind turbines and transmission lines. They’re quite persuasive in their arguments because they are dangling a large amount of money in front of unsuspecting landowners who get blind-sided by the seemingly huge payout for such a simple thing as an easement. The entire wind industry is driven by . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine blades can’t be recycled, so they’re piling up in landfills
A wind turbine’s blades can be longer than a Boeing 747 wing, so at the end of their lifespan they can’t just be hauled away. First, you need to saw through the lissome fiberglass using a diamond-encrusted industrial saw to create three pieces small enough to be strapped to a tractor-trailer. The municipal landfill in Casper, Wyoming, is the final resting place of 870 blades whose days making renewable energy have come to end. The severed fragments look like bleached . . . Complete story »
Winneshiek County energy public hearings scheduled
DECORAH – The Winneshiek County Zoning Commission invites all county residents interested in renewable wind and solar energy to two public meetings at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 (solar) and at 8 p.m. March 10 (wind) at the courthouse annex. Both meetings will give the public the opportunity to share concerns, suggestions and ideas for how the county should proceed to write regulations that will benefit solar energy and wind energy generation while protecting the health, safety and welfare of county residents. . . . Complete story »
‘The silence is gone’: Iowans search for solution regarding noise from wind turbines
GREENFIELD, Iowa – While continuing the conversation over a public outcry southwest of Des Moines, KCCI’s Tommie Clark speaks to people who believe wind turbines are hurting their health and others who don’t agree with that claim. “You get up every day. You go to work with it every day. I mean the silence is gone, and it’s forever gone. Yeah, it’s gone,” said Tanya and Mike Lamb, of Greenfield. The Lambs live 500 feet down from a wind turbine and . . . Complete story »
