Floyd County Wind Ordinance Approved After Five Readings

Over two years in the making, Floyd County now has an updated ordinance regulating construction of wind energy systems within County borders.

In November 2023, the Board of Supervisors enacted a moratorium on any permits for wind farm development so officials could review the ordinance for possible updates. The moratorium came as two wind energy companies, Invenergy and NextEra Energy, both proposed building about 40 turbines each in western and southwest sections of the County.

In early 2024, the Planning & Zoning Commission began drafting possible amendments to an ordinance that was, at that time, only a one-page document. In July 2024, Supervisors held its first reading on the ordinance based on the P&Z recommendations. However, several amendments were proposed by then-Supervisors Jim Jorgensen and Dennis Keifer that would likely inhibit future wind farms, including a limit on the number of turbines in the County to 70 total, including the 50 turbines already operated by MidAmerican Energy, south of Charles City.

Amid concerns of possible legal action against the County because of those limits, a third reading of the ordinance in October 2024 was put on hold and a mediation group was formed to develop compromises that would allow for wind farm development and establish regulations for setback distances and other restrictions. Since then, all three Supervisors initially involved, Jorgensen, Mark Kuhn and Keifer, are no longer in office, with Keifer passing away last June.

On December 2nd, current Supervisors Boyd Campbell, Gloria Carr and Frank Rottinghaus, finally resumed the third reading of the ordinance but did not finish the process after multiple amendments were made. They then held a fourth reading on December 16th, but that also brought more amendments and the ordinance remained unofficial. 

On Tuesday (01.06) morning, as part of their regular Board meeting, Supervisors took up a fifth and, as it turned out, the final consideration of the reading, with no additional amendments proposed.  

Prior to taking action for possible approval, Carr provided a document recapping how far the ordinance has come since the beginning.

The final reading of the wind ordinance was passed on a 2-1 vote, with Carr and Rottinghaus voting YES and Campbell voting NO. The revised ordinance itself was also passed in the same fashion, and will go into effect when its it published in the County newspapers.