Floyd County Supervisors, P&Z Take Initial Steps to Updating Wind Ordinance
The process of updating the ordinance regulating future developments of wind turbine farms in Floyd County has begun.
Floyd County Supervisors and the Planning and Zoning Commission held a joint meeting this week to lay out the groundwork to those efforts, which will be assisted by the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG).
NIACOG’s John Robbins discussed various aspects of wind turbine construction for ordinance consideration, from setback distances to safety and mitigation plants, and how trees can help limit “shadow flicker.†Robbins also noted that while the FAA will require flashing red lights atop turbines to alert airplanes, their ordinance may also want to address advances in technology for those lights.
The ordinance update was requested by landowners after companies, NextEra and Invenergy, announced projects in August to build over 150 wind turbines combined from Rudd and Floyd towards Marble Rock and Rockford.Â
Invenergy’s Isaac Lamppa said the Chickasaw Wind Energy Center, currently under development in Chickasaw County, offers examples of measures Floyd County might be able to utilize for their ordinance update.
Robbins also advised that the County’s ordinance also address what happens to the turbines if they are decommissioned.Â
No action was taken on updating the County’s wind turbine construction ordinance this week, with Supervisors and the P&Z looking to gather more input, including holding joint “listening sessions†with the public. No sessions have been scheduled as of yet.
