ISU Extension offers renewable energy seminar

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

People with an interest in renewable energy took advantage of an informational presentation from Iowa State University Extension at the Charles City Public Library’s Zastrow Room on Thursday, June 26.

Luke Seaberg of Community and Economic Development Extension, Noah Daniel of the Iowa Economic Council, and Alex Delworth of the Center for Rural Affairs each offered insights and statistics about the development of wind and solar energy and the impacts they have on a variety of metrics.

“Our focus is trying to align these projects with local priorities,” said Seaberg.

The presentation began with an overview of Iowa’s energy landscape, detailing the breakdown of how Iowa’s power is generated, noting that about two-thirds of Iowa’s energy is currently generated by wind power, along with the outlook for increasing energy demands in the state.

“Data centers are sprouting up all across the Midwest and they are using a lot of energy,” said Berg.

Daniel offered a quick rundown on the mechanics of how wind and solar energy works, along with battery infrastructure.

Next up, Delworth touched on the economic side of wind and solar energy development, offering statistics on economic impact, how wind and solar are taxed differently in the state, and studies about the effect that energy developments have on neighboring property values, particularly in higher population counties.

“Yes, there are legitimate concerns when it comes to property values,” said Delworth. “We don’t want to present that this isn’t the case.”

Daniel offered a rundown of the labyrinth of Iowa laws that regulate energy development along with the laws that regulate the county’s ability to regulate energy development.

“Counties don’t have to have ordinances, but if they do have ordinances they have to be consistent with state principles,” said Daniel.

Looking closer at what counties do regulate, Daniel reported that on average counties restrict the noise levels of wind turbines to between 45 and 60 decibels and shadow flicker to 30 hours per year. He said developers can model their plans with computer simulations to direct noise and shadow flicker away from areas where it would be an issue.

“Counties can require developers to submit this modeling prior to application,” said Daniel.

With so many topics to cover in limited amount of time, the presentation stuck to general information, leaving contact information so that individuals could follow up for a more in-depth discussion.

“I thought it was a really good presentation,” said County Supervisor Gloria Carr, who helped arrange the event following a chance encounter with Seaberg at a housing conference earlier this year. “I think it covered a lot of the basics.”

One attendee less satisfied with the presentation was Julie Kuntz of Clear Lake, who engaged with the presenters throughout the informational session to challenge their statistics with her own information.

“I’m disappointed in Iowa State,” said Kuntz. “I did not feel it was balanced.”

This is the first time this group has done a live presentation, previously only offering a similar program through webinars, but Seaberg says he’s looking forward to receiving feedback from attendees to apply to future events.

“We are excited about the opportunity to revise it further and keep on making improvements to the material,” said Seaberg.