North Iowa Wind Project Wins Court Battle, Floyd County Implications Unclear

Some six years after it started, a North Iowa wind energy project can proceed.                                                                               

In a case that could be similar to a situation developing in Floyd County, a district court judge ruled in favor of Worthwhile Wind in its dispute with the Worth County Board of Supervisors. The decision grants the company the right to complete its wind energy project under laws in effect prior to the county’s 2021 wind energy moratorium and subsequent 2022 ordinance that brought development to a halt.

The court ruled that Worthwhile’s vested interest, to the tune of $7 million, coupled with the Worth County Supervisors “bad faith” efforts to stop the project, should allow Worthwhile to resume construction, which initially began in 2018.

In Floyd County, several amendments to the County’s regulations to wind turbine construction proposed by Supervisors Jim Jorgensen and Dennis Keifer would create a zoning ordinance vastly different from the plan developed by the County’s Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission. Wind companies, Invenergy and NextEra, each looking to develop wind farms in western sections of the county, say the so-called “poison pill” amendments will kill their projects.

During their meeting Monday (10.14)morning, Supervisor Chair Mark read a portion of County Attorney Todd Prichard’s legal opinion on what awaits the County if the ordinance is passed on its third reading coming later this month.

Jorgensen asked if the County should seek opinion from outside counsel.

Kuhn again challenged Jorgensen and Keifer that they haven’t given the P&Z proposed zoning ordinance proper consideration for areas of compromise to avoid possible litigation against the County.

Keifer said he wasn’t ready to consider a different approach.

Jorgensen said he also wasn’t ready to make that call, even though Prichard noted that if the County was sued and lost, then the County’s wind ordinance would go back to the current standards and even the updated P&Z ordinance would also be out, meaning very few restrictions on wind farm development.

For now, Supervisors are on track for the third and final reading to make the ordinance official on October 29th.