Marshall County Zoning Commission continues work on renewable energy ordinance
Rules will impact solar panels, wind turbine installations
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Shown Thursday is the billboard adjoining the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA/Alliant Energy Solar Panel Field near the intersection of East Main St. and North 18th Ave. Behind the billboard is 1,100 panels.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Shown Thursday is the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA /Alliant Energy Solar Panel Field with 1,100 panels near the intersection of East Main St. and North 18th Ave. The land is owned by the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA and rented by Alliant.
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Tyler Kelley, Marshall County Zoning Director, is shown responding to a question at a recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting inside the Marshall County Courthouse.
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Shown Thursday is the billboard adjoining the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA/Alliant Energy Solar Panel Field near the intersection of East Main St. and North 18th Ave. Behind the billboard is 1,100 panels.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Shown Thursday is the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA /Alliant Energy Solar Panel Field with 1,100 panels near the intersection of East Main St. and North 18th Ave. The land is owned by the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA and rented by Alliant.
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Tyler Kelley, Marshall County Zoning Director, is shown responding to a question at a recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting inside the Marshall County Courthouse.
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The Marshall County Zoning Commission continues to work on updating its Renewable Energy Ordinance. Installation of battery storage facilities, solar panels and wind turbines would be affected.
Consequently, the P&Z commission met Tuesday in a work session at the Marshall County Courthouse and heard comments from county department heads and residents.
"I was impressed with the turnout by the public and their questions and comments about the P&Z Commission's work in updating the existing ordinance," said Supervisor Christian Goodman of Haverhill, who attended the meeting. "It was a good discussion overall."
Also in attendance were representatives from Invenergy LLC, of Chicago, Ill., and Scout Energy Management LLC of Dallas, Texas. They are two companies with business interest in renewable energy developments, according to their websites.
They submitted written comments to Tyler Kelley, the county's planning and zoning director.
Pat VonAhnen, a zoning commissioner and rural Marshall County resident, said she had "a lot to learn" at the meeting.
"We heard many comments at the meeting ... and we (the commission) have a lot of work to do," she said.
VonAhnen and her colleagues will submit an updated renewable energy ordinance to the board of supervisors when their work is finished.
Joining VonAhnen on the commission are Bill Hobson and Will Wears. Commissioners serve as non-professionals and without compensation, according to the county's website.
Their purpose is to advise the board of supervisors on managing the growth of the county among other duties.
Supervisor Carol Hibbs of Marshalltown said she attended a portion of the meeting.
"We are trying to be open and transparent about the process," she said. "I think the commission is doing a good job of seeking public input."
Kelley, who is working with the commission, said he expects a draft ordinance will be available for the Board of Supervisors to review in early 2027.
Kelley told the T-R and attendees at a work session in July that a revised ordinance in the county's unincorporated areas was necessary to replace one drafted years earlier.
He said the county currently has a "bare bones" renewable energy ordinance in place.
"We want to be prepared and have an ordinance in place which allows a project to generate or store electricity," Kelley said.
The increased number of wind farms located in rural Iowa to meet a growing demand for electricity also played a role, Kelley said. There are two wind farms in Marshall County now -- one is near Laurel and the second in Vienna township.
Part of the Vienna project has turbines in neighboring Tama County. Both are owned by Mid-America Energy of Des Moines, according to the company's website.
The company worked with county governments first and next negotiated individual leases with property owners and installed the turbines in 2013.
Wind turbine and other electricity-generating projects have proven to be a long-term boon for local government tax bases as well as to property owners who lease their land. Many leases are for 50 years. They also provide high-paying construction jobs and in a number of projects have made for improved highway access.
Like many new business development projects, wind farms have also met strong resistance. Opponents have cited damage to the environment, injuries and fatalities to birds and the removal of cropland from production as key reasons.
"At least one-third of Iowa counties have restrictive wind turbine ordinances," according to ISU Extension officials who have previously reported to the P&Z Commission on the issue.
Regardless, Iowa has proved to be prime location for wind turbines specifically, ranking second nationally with more than 6,300 individual turbines,
Texas is first with more than 18,000 individual turbines. Oklahoma is third with more than 5,500 turbines.
Additionally, there is at least one large-scale solar panel field in Marshalltown. It is the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA Solar Project -- a 500-kilowatt solar installation with more than 1,000 panels near the corner of North 18th Avenue and East Main Street in Marshalltown, according to the Alliant Energy website.
When fully operational, it can generate enough electricity to power more than 200 homes. The facility has been online since 2020.
The next commission work session on the revised renewable energy ordinance is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Nov. 17 at the Marshall County Courthouse. It is open to the public.
Kelley may be contacted at 641-844-2707 or visit tkelley@marshallcounty.ia.gov
For more information about wind turbines in Iowa and the United States, visit www.usgs.gov. For additional information about renewable energy visit the Center for Rural Affairs website at www.cfra.org and ISU Extension at www.extension.iastate.edu.