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Des Moines County supervisors review draft wind, solar and battery siting ordinance
Summary
Supervisors and staff reviewed a draft siting permit ordinance that would create a single permit with preliminary and final reviews, require early mailed notice to nearby residents, set technical-study requirements (noise, shadow flicker, interconnection), and include timelines and permit conditions; no final vote was taken.
The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors spent much of its work session on Thursday reviewing a draft update to the countys siting permit ordinance for wind, solar and battery storage projects.
Presenters described a two-stage process: a preliminary review to collect information and public input and a final review that requires confirmed design plans and all technical documents. The draft combines those steps into a single permit that moves through preliminary and final reviews.
The draft lists extensive application materials: site plans indicating acreage, number of turbines or arrays, megawatt capacity, setbacks, a structural-engineer report, documentation that the developer has pursued interconnection for grid access, and copies of applicable federal and state permits. Presenter S7 said some documents may come later in the final stage but developers must show they are in the process of obtaining them.
Participants debated notice requirements. One member proposed requiring proof of service to all residents within a two-mile radius at the time of application so neighbors would be informed early. Presenters noted the draft already requires notice to owners and occupants within 1 mile of each turbine or array and publication in a general-circulation newspaper ahead of the public hearing; staff said the Code of Iowas legal-notice requirements would be followed and added that certified mailings and website postings could be used to supplement newspaper publication.
The draft sets procedural timing: a public hearing must be held within 90 days of a complete siting-permit application and the county may limit how long an application remains active (a two-year deadline to begin construction was proposed, with extensions allowed for justified reasons). The ordinance also references enforcement language that would allow revocation of a siting permit for failure to comply with ordinance minimums or any conditions agreed to in the permit.
Technical analyses required by the draft include noise modeling (using current modeling software to estimate A-weighted decibels at occupied dwellings), shadow-flicker modeling with a 30-hours-per-year threshold, operations and maintenance plans, decommissioning plans, and an operations safety manual. Presenters said the noise threshold language was updated in the draft to use a 55 A-weighted decibel reference and that if any occupied dwelling is likely to experience noise above the threshold a mitigation plan must be presented.
The draft also asks for documentation of insurance coverage (including general liability and environmental insurance) and discussed coordination protocols for ice accumulation mitigation and accommodations for aerial applicators/crop spraying. Presenters referenced concerns raised during Lee Countys review process and a Mechanicsville incident as reasons to require transparent insurance documentation.
No final ordinance text was adopted; board members asked staff and presenters to refine placement of notice language (mailing at application versus later legal notice), clarify the language about conditions agreed to before board approval, and confirm thresholds and terminology. The work session ended with presenters and staff agreeing to return with revised draft language for subsequent review.
