Amendment to Floyd County ordinance allows wind turbines near sinkholes

Folks living in Floyd County may see more wind farms near their home due to an amendment to a county ordinance approved this year.

Companies can now apply for conditional use permits to build wind farms in Floyd County. The ordinance allows developers to lease land from farmers, which officials say reduces the carbon footprint.

Vice Chair of the Floyd County Supervisors, Frank Rottinghaus, said the county’s lone wind farm right now generates about $900,000 in tax dollars each year.

“We expect that the future projects would yield the same amount of taxable value and a similar amount of tax,” Rottinghaus said.

What’s raising the eyebrow of some county residents is a line in the amendment that says wind turbines may be built within 750 feet of existing sinkholes. Derek Straube lives in Floyd County, and he says there are already too many sinkholes in the area.

“in the last few months, we’ve had two more open up in this area,” Straube said.

With construction equipment moving in and out of gravel roads, Straube said more sinkholes could open.

“Our issue is if you start building these things, taking large equipment across, it could potentially open those back up, make them active in a farmhouse on a farm,” Straube said.

In terms of how the county plans to mitigate the issue, Jessy Willadsen, Floyd County’s zoning administrator, said companies are expected to conduct geological evaluations on the land they hope to put wind turbines on.

“I would expect that, you know, based upon how expensive these turbines would likely cost to construct, I would expect that the company would do their due diligence,” Willadsen said.

Even with the county’s decision, some residents said cases in other states have not allowed wind turbines to be built on geological land similar to that of Floyd County.