Supervisors to update wind power ordinance

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided on Monday against a moratorium on commercial wind turbines in the county, but are collecting information and conducting research to revise their 2015 wind ordinance to include specific parameters for large-scale wind farms.

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Monday agreed to move forward with a revised and expanded wind turbine/wind generation ordinance, without resulting in a moratorium.

In a special work session held Nov. 15, the Board talked about issuing a six-month moratorium on any wind turbine permit applications. It was revealed Monday that no applications are expected during the three-month or less process it will take the Board to decide on a new ordinance and the language contained in such a document.

Humboldt County Economic Development Director Alissa O’Connor reported that E.ON, one the world’s largest investor-owned utilities, with headquarters in Germany and operations in more than 30 counties with 33 million customers, is interested in exploring an area in southeastern rural Humboldt County, to see if it would be feasible for a wind farm. She said testing would need to occur for a couple of years before any wind turbines would be constructed.

Dakota City resident Gerry West told the Board that there are dangers with wind turbines and that leases and contracts are very much geared to benefit the wind power developer.

Wind turbines have been popping up around the state and have been welcomed in most rural counties of Iowa because they represent a large amount of tax revenue on a regular basis. Nearby Hamilton, Webster and Kossuth counties all have modern "windmills." The Palo Alto County Board of Supervisors recently agreed to a development by a split 3-2 vote after some very contentious and controversial meetings.