Supervisors report ISAC takeaways; county to monitor proposals for battery storage, nitrogen drilling and crypto‑mining

Board members returning from the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) conference briefed the Page County Board of Supervisors on emerging energy and industrial topics that county officials are monitoring, including electric‑battery storage facilities, proposals for storage of nuclear rods or nitrogen resources, and discussions about bitcoin‑mining operations that require high power usage.

A supervisor who attended ISAC summarized the discussion: some counties are drafting ordinances governing large battery storage facilities, and companies have approached counties about siting storage containers that require immersion in a liquid solution to reduce fire risk. The supervisor said such facilities “take quite a bit of space” and that counties are starting to consider land‑use and taxation questions. She added that several counties are in the process of drafting ordinances and that Page County should “keep our eyes and our ears open” to the topic.

Supervisors also mentioned presentations about drilling for nitrogen and related resource activities, and noted that bitcoin‑mining operations use hundreds of computers, create significant noise, and demand a lot of power; county officials said they would watch for proposals and may need to consider local regulation or guidance if developers approach the county.

The board did not adopt any ordinance or formal policy during the meeting; staff said they will gather more information and bring recommendations back to the board later. One supervisor said she would circulate more information to other supervisors before any deep policy work begins.

The board also discussed regional meetings (SIPCO) and other intergovernmental items but treated the ISAC energy topics as early‑stage intelligence rather than an immediate regulatory action.