With the Vienna Wind Farm turbines near Gladbrook visible on the horizon, Salt Creek Wind’s staging yard southwest of Traer is pictured on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. As of press time, the yard has since been emptied of equipment. Salt Creek Wind was recently acquired by the energy giant NextEra Energy Resources. On Jan. 6, 2025, the Tama County Board of Supervisors enacted tandem commercial wind and solar moratoriums. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TOLEDO – The winds of change are sweeping through Tama County government.

It has been roughly three years since members of the local coalition Tama County Against Turbines (TCAT) first started asking the then three-member Tama County Board of Supervisors to enact a moratorium on commercial wind energy development in the county. During that time, TCAT – through its network of dedicated leaders, members, and supporters – not only managed to place hundreds of ‘NO WIND’ yard signs throughout the county (and beyond) but also drove out an early stage wind energy development project by Apex Clean Energy and spearheaded a successful ballot box campaign to move the county from three to five supervisors.

On Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, the coalition’s persistent demands for a moratorium were seemingly granted by the newly-seated, five-member board of supervisors who orchestrated a seismic shift in governance when they unanimously adopted separate resolutions to enact moratoriums on the development and construction of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) and utility scale solar in the county.

“Moratoriums and updating ordinances have been the talking point of Tama County Board of Supervisor meetings for the last [two and a half] years,” District 3 Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the county’s first elected female supervisor and former member of TCAT, told the newspaper in an email following the Jan. 6 meeting. “Unfortunately it fell on deaf ears to the previous Board of Supervisors besides (District 1 Supervisor) Curt Hilmer. The [Nov. 5, 2024] election was a clear picture of what the majority of people want in the county on this topic. Getting a Moratorium for wind and solar on the agenda was a priority as soon as we took office.”

The previous three supervisors included Hilmer, Bill Faircloth (R-Toledo), and Dan Anderson (D-Tama). While Anderson elected not to run again, Faircloth found himself embroiled in a brutal Republican primary for his seat against Mark Doland (R-Toledo) who now chairs the board. Doland himself experienced an equally bruising general election race against Democrat Berleen Wobeter over whom he narrowly prevailed for the District 4 seat by some 43 votes.

A Tama County Against Turbines (TCAT) yard sign bowls over in the wind along the edge of a farm field near Clutier in the spring of 2022. TCAT has been lobbying the Tama County Board of Supervisors for years to enact a moratorium on wind energy conversion systems (WECS). SUN COURIER FILE PHOTO

The only member of the former board to remain in his seat following the switch from three to five members was Hilmer. While Hilmer has never identified publicly as a member of TCAT, he has been sympathetic to the coalition’s goals, going so far as to tell the newspaper in late May 2024 (as part of primary election coverage): “My position, no industrial wind and solar. I do like to see them used to power individual homesteads! Landowner’s rights need to take a backseat to the leftist agenda. People need to realize these things are 100% subsidized by the taxpayer! We are making greedy people richer from the top to the bottom!”

The board’s decision to enact tandem wind and solar moratoriums on Jan. 6 was thus not surprising with all five members – Doland, Hilmer, Knebel, Curt Kupka, and David Turner – voting to adopt the resolutions.

“A County Supervisor is elected to protect the people, land, and the county,” Knebel continued as part of her comments to the newspaper. “We are not ready to bring in industrial wind/solar projects under the old wind ordinance from 2010 and we do not have a utility solar ordinance. With the moratoriums being approved, the Zoning Commission now has time to research and update the ordinances to bring them up to date.”

The moratoriums

The wind and solar moratorium resolutions adopted by the board on Jan. 6 are similarly written. Both begin by defining the systems.

Members of the public including representatives of Tama County Against Turbines (TCAT) as well as attorneys for Salt Creek Wind pictured in the Tama County Administration Building boardroom during a Zoning Commission public hearing held on Nov. 29, 2022, to address a proposal for a six-month wind energy conversion systems (WECS) moratorium and a 12-month utility scale solar moratorium. No action was taken during that meeting due to a lack of quorum. SUN COURIER FILE PHOTO

WECS is defined as any “electrical generating facility comprised of one or more wind turbines and accessory facilities.”

Utility scale solar is defined as any solar energy system of 50 kW or greater “whose primary purpose is to harvest energy by transforming solar energy into another form of energy or transferring heat from a collector to another medium using mechanical, electrical, or chemical means.”

Both resolutions state the County “has an interest in protecting the County’s infrastructure, natural resources and property rights through adequate setback provisions.”

The moratoriums went into effect immediately upon passage on Jan. 6, halting “development and construction” of WECS and utility scale solar “for an indefinite amount of time.”

The resolutions further state the moratoriums are necessary to allow time for “Tama County to review and update the language as necessary in the Tama County Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the Tama County Zoning Ordinance, or both, and to incorporate the information and concerns that have arisen through the public meetings held by the Board of Supervisors and Zoning Commission.”

The question of whether the moratoriums will also stop development of either the Salt Creek Wind project in central Tama County or Tyr Energy Development (TED) Renewables’ Draft Horse Solar project on the eastern outskirts of Traer were put to Supervisor Knebel by the newspaper.

“We’re in the process of reviewing the impact on all projects and will be in touch with answers once we know more,” Knebel said.

During discussion surrounding the resolutions, Tama County Zoning Administrator Bob Vokoun told the supervisor he needed guidance on how to advise his board going forward as well as how to advise Salt Creek Wind’s developer which is currently working on its $300 million Phase I project for which it holds 60 county zoning certificates. While some driveway cuts and culverts have been constructed as part of the Salt Creek project, not much else has been built — yet.

According to Auditor Karen Rohrs’ minutes of the Jan. 6 meeting, Knebel told Vokoun the resolution affects only those projects lacking a permit.

“If a company has a CUP [conditional use permit] and a building permit this does not apply to them. If they don’t have any of that Knebel assumes then it would affect them,” Rohrs wrote of Knebel’s comments.

A map of the proposed Salt Creek Wind project footprint with the town of Garwin located in the lower left. The yellow markers indicate the placement of Salt Creek Wind turbines, while the orange markers (top left corner) represent the existing Vienna Wind Farm turbines.

Knebel also told the newspaper that those with “personal solar” such as on their farm or house or acreage are not affected.

“This only pertains to 50kW or higher being put on several acres of land,” she said.

NextEra Energy takes over Salt Creek Wind

According to Vokoun, who spoke with the newspaper on Jan. 8, the Salt Creek Wind Phase I project was recently purchased by NextEra Energy Resources — one of NextEra Energy’s two principal businesses with the other being the electric utility Florida Power & Light (FP&L).

The Fortune 200 company based in Juno Beach, Florida describes itself as “the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy” with 119 wind farms/projects across the U.S. and Canada. As of October 2024, the company was valued at over $170 billion.

NextEra is the majority owner of the Duane Arnold Energy Center north of Palo, Iowa, which it purchased in 2006. The now decommissioned nuclear power plant ceased operations following the 2020 Derecho. More recently, NextEra helped develop the agriculture fields surrounding the nuclear plant into a utility scale solar project – the Duane Arnold Solar Project which is nearing completion of its second phase, according to reporting by The Gazette newspaper.

“We have invested billions of dollars – with plans to invest even more – in energy infrastructure across North America, including new wind and solar facilities, transmission and natural gas pipelines, offering our customers innovative solutions to meet their energy needs,” NextEra’s website states.

Much like the development of wind and solar projects in Tama County, NextEra is not without controversy. According to reporting by Reuters, FP&L – referred to by the news agency as NextEra’s “crown jewel utility” – has been involved in “questionable political and campaign finance-related activity” since 2020.

Reporting by Reuters’ Laila Kearney in Feb. 2023 regarding FP&L stated, “The Miami Herald (newspaper) and others reported claims that company executives worked with a consultant to derail certain state senate candidates and surveil a journalist who wrote critically about the regulated utility.”

Kearney’s reporting also stated, “An internal NextEra investigation found no wrongdoing.”

Tama-Grundy Publishing reached out to NextEra following the Jan. 6 Tama County Board of Supervisors meeting regarding both the purchase of Salt Creek Wind and the wind/solar moratoriums.

“We are pleased to share that NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, has acquired the Salt Creek Wind project currently under development in Tama County,” Sara Cassidy, a spokesperson for NextEra, said in an email on Jan. 10. “We believe we are well-positioned to advance the Salt Creek Wind project with the goal of seeing it become operational.”

She continued: “NextEra Energy Resources is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and the sun. In addition to Salt Creek Wind, our subsidiaries own and operate 13 wind facilities in Iowa, with additional wind and solar projects in development. We have a proven track record, having invested more than $3.1 billion in the state over the last two decades. In 2023 alone, we made $12.3 million in annual payments to Iowa landowners and paid $12 million in property taxes to Iowa municipalities.”

In regard specifically to the moratoriums, Cassidy said the company would provide “additional information as soon as it becomes available.”

Vokoun told the newspaper late last fall (2024) he was made aware NextEra would be taking over development of Salt Creek Wind. The project was previously in development by Eric and Robert Bergstrom with Conifer Power Company.

“They are in a construction phase,” Vokoun said of NextEra on Jan. 8. “They actually were ahead of schedule on the driveways. So they were able to move ahead on that, they had decent weather.”

Vokoun also told the newspaper that TED Renewables has not yet applied for any utility scale solar permits in Tama County.

“Technically they could have applied for conditional use permits, if they wanted to. … They could have at any time [but] they wanted to just work with everybody and work on an ordinance and stuff. They’ve been very good to the county. They want to be able to work it out and have a nice workable ordinance.”

Commentary

The newspaper reached out to several people familiar and/or involved with the discussion surrounding the development of commercial WECS and utility scale solar in Tama County including Kathy Harkema Krakfa, a named member of TCAT’s leadership, but did not hear back.

The newspaper also did not hear back from former Supervisors Bill Faircloth and Dan Anderson, while Nancy Yuska, a member of the Tama County Board of Adjustment, declined to comment at this time.

The newspaper also reached out to Elias Toshiro with TED Renewables but also did not hear back.

When reached for comment on the moratoriums, Doug Dvorak, chair of the Tama County Zoning Commission, told the newspaper, “It’s going to allow us to take our time to get it done right in the best interests of our county.”

During the Jan. 13 Tama County Board of Supervisors meeting, Kimberly Dickey with NextEra Energy Resources spoke during the public comment portion, requesting that the board amend the moratorium resolutions to ‘include a short statement saying that the moratorium does not apply to previously permitted projects,’ per Auditor Rohrs’ minutes.

Currently, Tama County is home to only one operating wind project – Vienna Wind Farm operated by MidAmerican Energy and located near Gladbrook. The farm’s turbines are also located in adjacent Marshall County.

When asked by the newspaper if she was worried at all if the moratoriums will have a negative effect on the county’s financials and/or discourage future investment, Knebel stated, “Tama County is a great place to develop, live, and work. We need to have ordinances to protect the people, livestock, land, and county now and for future generations to come. Having [five] supervisors who do their research, get multiple bids, ask questions, and negotiate will help to save the county money.”