Fourth Reading of Floyd County Wind Ordinance Set

Last week, Floyd County Supervisors resumed the third reading of the County’s ordinance regulating construction of wind energy systems.

The process was put on hold in October 2024 and a mediation group was formed to find compromises to the ordinance that would still allow for the development of wind farms and establish various regulations regarding setback distances and limits on the sound wind turbines will make.

In the meantime, all three Supervisors initially involved in the recrafting of the ordinance, Jim Jorgensen, Mark Kuhn and Dennis Keifer are no longer in office, with Keifer passing away in June.  The three current Supervisors, Boyd Campbell, Gloria Carr and Frank Rottinghaus, took up the issue December 2nd in the Schwartrock Community Center on the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

Amendments supported by Carr and Rottinghaus,  many a result of mediation group recommendations, would take the ordinance in the opposite direction than the amendments by Jorgensen and Keifer that would have made any new wind farms impossible. Among them was limiting the number of total turbines in the County to 70, including the 50 already operated south of Charles City by MidAmerican Energy.

That amendment was done away with during the December 2nd ordinance reading and replaced by an amendment with no limits on turbine numbers. Still, after consideration of 23 possible amendments, nothing is official, with a fourth reading then set for 6 pm December 16th. 

However, the location was not established at that time. During their meeting Tuesday (12.09), Supervisors discussed that missing piece of the equation, with Carr noting the expectation of two new amendments being drafted by John Robins with NIACOG

No details were provided on either amendment, but even with the fourth reading, there’s question if the process will be finalized this Tuesday.

Supervisors would vote unanimously for the fourth reading of the wind ordinance to be held in the courtroom of the Floyd County Courthouse this Tuesday (12.16) night.