Page County Board approves transfer of Shenandoah Hills road-use agreement to MidAmerican Energy

The Page County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the transfer of the road‑use agreement and related project approvals for the Shenandoah Hills wind project to MidAmerican Energy Company, clearing the way for MidAmerican to assume construction and operation obligations under the existing settlement and county approvals.

The action formalizes a planned ownership assignment from Shenandoah Hills/Invenergy to MidAmerican and affirms that MidAmerican “will accept and abide by the terms governing the CWEC’s approval and the associated agreements,” according to Dan Bitchfield, who identified himself as representing Shenandoah Hills Wind Project and Invenergy.

Why it matters: the approval confirms MidAmerican may proceed with construction under the county’s existing Commercial Wind Energy Conversion System (CWECS) approval and settlement agreement without additional special permits, though generally applicable building, entrance, right‑of‑way and utility permits will still be required.

Dan Bitchfield told the board the developer has completed several settlement commitments: “We have dismissed the lawsuits against the county. We have confirmed the turbine locations and the specific models, and we have begun the neighbor agreement outreach.” He said the outreach contacted 100% of adjacent property owners: 68 total, with four signed agreements, seven refusals, 19 considering and the remainder not yet responding.

Kelsey Ballard, representing MidAmerican Energy Company, said the company will adhere to the negotiated location setbacks and other conditions: “We do agree to abide by those, including those land agreements you asked about.” Ballard said MidAmerican plans to begin turbine deliveries in June (weather dependent) and aims to complete turbines by the end of the calendar year, with initial work beginning in neighboring Fremont County then moving into Page County.

County legal counsel and outside counsel described the legal posture: the board was told there is no active litigation that would invalidate the county permits; outstanding appeals noted by counsel related to sanctions and a separate open‑meetings claim remanded to district court do not affect the county’s CWECS approval. The board’s motion approving the transfer also included language that the assignment authorizes MidAmerican to “proceed with construction of the CWECS project and all associated facilities including turbines, collection lines, ADLS structures and all other project components without need for additional permits or approvals except for generally applicable building permits, utility permits, entrance permits, and right of way permits.”

The motion was seconded and approved by the board (vote recorded as passed). After the vote supervisors said the transfer clears procedural steps needed prior to the buyer’s closing; counsel and company representatives said closing was expected within days.

The county and company representatives emphasized no changes to the payment structure tied to state law taxing rules for wind are anticipated; Dan Bitchfield and Kelsey Ballard told supervisors the ownership change would not alter easement payments to landowners or the replacement tax mechanism that governs wind taxation in Iowa.

The board did not identify additional conditions beyond those contained in the settlement and the CWECS approval. Supervisors and counsel directed staff to continue coordination with the company on construction scheduling and local contacts.

Looking ahead: MidAmerican representatives said they will finalize construction plans and maintain ongoing communications with county staff and landowners as construction begins.