Supervisors Move Forward With Wind Turbine Ordinance

July 5th, 2023

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors began crafting a wind turbine ordinance to address any future wind turbine farms within the county.

At the beginning of the meeting, during the public comments section, a rural resident said that 120 people in Cedar and Harrison Townships in rural Mahaska County support an ordinance restricting future wind turbine farms.

The ordinance would be crafted similarly to Woodbury County’s ordinance that would call for a 2-mile setback from residential areas and a 1-mile zone around conservation land.

Mahaska County’s potential ordinance would also address decommissioning of the wind turbines and the beacon lighting atop the towers.

Mahaska County Supervisor Mark Groenendyk said the ordinance is for public health and welfare to protect citizens.

Mahaska County Supervisor Chuck Webb said there is “a lot of interest” in seeing such an ordinance move forward. “Beyond that, it’s a safety issue for the public.”

With that, the Supervisors decided to craft an official ordinance and hold public meetings about the proposed language.

The US Energy Information Administration states that the wind generated over 62 percent of Iowa’s electricity in 2022.