Aaron Theisen and Tanya Olson, representatives for RPM Access, a wind energy company based out of De Soto, met with the Clarke County Board of Supervisors and county residents on Nov. 13 to address questions and concerns regarding wind turbines in Clarke County.
In June, the supervisors approved 2-0 placing a temporary moratorium on the construction of wind turbines in the county.
Theisen, project development with RPM, gave a brief rundown on the turbine project which is proposed for an area north of Murray near the Clarke-Madison county line. Theisen said that in 2017, RPM Access began working on their transmission system, and looked for places in the transmission lines where there was availability to inject energy without needing major upgrades to their existing system. They focused in on CIPCO (Central Iowa Power Cooperative), and were able to find pockets of availability where they could place turbines to generate energy. That same year, RPM submitted an application to CIPCO for a 56 megawatt (MW) project, a project size that would be financially feasible for RPM as no significant system upgrades would be required.
A tower to collect data on wind energy was placed in Clarke County, and RPM began talking with landowners to see who was interested in having a turbine(s) on their property and who was not. For those who were, they were offered options, which have since expired and been renewed. Studies have also been ongoing for the potential effect on avian and bat species.
“At the end of the day, RPM Access is a developer for the last two-plus decades that has tried to work in the middle of all parties involved in a project,” said Theisen. He said RPM acts as the middle-man between the county officials, those who want the project and those who don’t.
RPM has continued working on other projects around the state, including one in Prescott in Adams County that is currently under construction.
Proposed Clarke Co. project
The proposed 56MW project, which is the same as the one being constructed in Prescott, would consist of 13 turbines; each machine is 4.3MW. Theisen said that due to the developments in technology, the turbines have gotten larger, which requires fewer machines for the same amount of energy. 20 years ago, the same size project with a 0.9MW machine would require more than 60 turbines.
“[The] footprint’s the same as putting in turbines 20 years ago as the ones we have now,” said Olson, project development with RPM for over 20 years.
Due to transportation regulations with moving the turbine blades down the interstate, the access roads for construction and operation remain the same at 16-feet. The turbines will be 105-meter towers with 170-meter blades, or approximately 623.36 feet in total height.
Finances
The project is estimated at a $97,000,000 capital investment, based on today’s values. The cost includes not just the turbines, but the substation where the generator is interconnected, the infrastructure, costs for the access roads and maintenance, and the cables that are placed underground. RPM has the equipment on site to quickly repair county roads, or they will reimburse the county if they prefer to handle repairs themselves.
The capital investment of the project would not be federally funded, but the production end of the project would be, using the production tax credit that applies to renewable energy. While the project is under construction, it would qualify for a tax abatement program. Theisen explained the reasoning behind this being that it helps to be able to pay down the capital expenditure in the first seven years as the federal funds come in. The assessed value and property tax would be estimated as follows:
Year One - 0%, $0
Year Two - 5%, $136,000
Year Three - 10%, $272,000
Year Four - 15%, 408,000
Year Five - 20%, 544,000
Year Six - 25%, 680,000
Year Seven & onward - 30%, $816,000
Over 30 years, the estimated property tax generated would be roughly $21.6 million. Current wind turbines have a life expectancy of 25-30 years.
Theisen added that the substation is useful far longer than the turbine’s lifespan, and it is possible that at the end of the 30-years they would renew the project, the taxable income of which will still be driven by the capital expenditure.
Setbacks
Clarke County’s zoning coordinator Rob McCaulley expressed concern about the setbacks as they are currently written in the ordinance.
Now, the turbines have to be set 700-feet from a property line, but nothing can be built within 1,200-feet of them. That would mean that anything 500-feet on the other side of the property line would not be usable. McCaulley said that he doesn’t want to take away the neighbor’s rights - unless that neighbor signed some sort of a waiver - and needs more time to talk with the zoning board, supervisors and the public about setbacks.
Theisen agreed later in the meeting that it was reasonable for the county to look at their ordinances and do updates to it as necessary, saying that Clarke County has an advantage by being able to look at what other counties have done, but reiterated that RPM is here to help find solutions and balance.
“You can’t have zero-foot setbacks. You can’t have two-mile setbacks, because then you just would have zero development. Essentially, you would just say, no projects are allowed because we’re going to set the setback at x-amount that’s just prohibitive. Somewhere in the middle is the right answer,” said Theisen.
Decommissioning
According to Theisen, it is written in the easement agreement with the landowner that a turbine will be taken down within six months, or 180 days, of it no longer being used. This could either be parts, or the whole machine. There is also the possibility that one might not be replaced. All of the facilities will be removed by RPM, or whoever owns the turbines, down to four-feet below ground. That allows for the top of the pedestal to be removed and the hole covered back with soil. The cables would be left in the ground, as they are lower than four-feet and no longer conducting energy, and it would create more disturbance to the ground to dig down and remove them.
Starting in year 15, RPM sets aside money in an escrow account for five years to cover the cost of decommissioning if they still own the project. A removal obligation is currently included in the ordinance in order to get a permit to build.
Olson said that most turbines will get replaced around year 20. She was part of the first wind farm project in Iowa put up in 1999, and it was just two years ago that 56 turbines were taken down and replaced with larger machines.
“I don’t know of any wind farm in Iowa that’s been decommissioned,” said Olson.
More turbines?
When asked by supervisor Dean Robins if RPM has plans to put more turbines in Clarke County or if they know of any others, Theisen said no. With the transmission availability in the area, RPM was the first to put a claim on it at 56MW, which is all that is available in that particular area. There are other spots where they could inject power, but those are sporadic and RPM has no intentions of doing so, being satisfied with the current project. Theisen said they haven’t currently seen any other companies looking in the area, but that is always a possibility.
Additional questions
Lighting - at this time RPM is not using the auto lighting on their turbines that only turn on when an aircraft is in the area. Theisen said that they are still so new, they are cost-prohibitive.
Emergency services - RPM will work with local EMS and fire staff during the production to assist with any emergency scenarios, and all crews are trained on how to do rescue from the top of a tower. Should a turbine ever catch fire, the safest thing to do is let it burn, and create a perimeter to secure the spread.
Moratorium - Olson inquired about the moratorium, and what RPM can do in the future to assist with those. Robins replied that they are still working with zoning, and need to run numbers on how much tax revenue will be generated for the county, as well as hold more public meetings.
Selling projects and land - When questioned by a member of the public about RPM building and selling off their projects, Theisen replied that some wind farms that they have developed have been sold, and some they have kept in house. RPM does not currently have any land or easements acquired.
The supervisors expect to hold more public meetings in the future for public comment, as well as more talks with RPM Access.