(Radio Iowa file photo)
A southwest Iowa county’s moratorium on wind turbine project development will remain in place through at least the rest of the year.
The county’s original moratorium was set to expire July 1st and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors have unanimously approved a 180 day extension. Supervisor Mark Peterson of Stanton read the resolution aloud during Tuesday’s board meeting.
“The county has an interest in protecting the county’s residents, infrastructure, natural resources and property rights through adequate regulations and whereas the county has an interest in protecting the Montgomery County roads infrastructure through more robust road agreements during construction,” he read.
Diane Jacobs, who lives near Villisca, urged the board to act to avoid the kind of turmoil about turbines she sees in neighboring counties.
“I see this at all these counties…They get them in, you know, 300-400 turbines, they make all these ordinances for that size, they get ’em up. They county’s sick of them, everybody’s sick of them and they want change and they don’t want to change them,” Jacobs said. “These new ones are going to be 600 feet tall. They can be retrofitted to be 700-900 feet. They’re industrial sized. I don’t think we want them even a half a mile away.”
The moratorium does not apply to wind turbine construction permits already filed with the county.
A report issued earlier this year by a national group that promotes energy with lower greenhouse gas emissions found 16 Iowa counties have established regulations for where wind turbines may be built. Seven counties have ordinances that prohibit wind turbine development. Nine other counties have moratoriums that are temporary — like Montgomery County’s.
(By Mike Peterson, KMA, Shenandoah)