Letter to the Editor: Floyd County needs wind farms

Signed by: Donald Bill Fluhrer, Douglas A. Kamm, Jean Ann Kamm, John Newton, Jean Newton, Jim Sanner, Dean Toebe, Doris Toebe, Paul Rottinghaus, Diane Meyer, Tami Vetter and Randy Heitz

Wind farms are good for Floyd County. They are a clean, renewable energy source providing much needed electricity.

Mid-American Energy did a wind project in 2007. They came here for one reason, to make a profit. They have also put millions of dollars into the coffers of Floyd County taxpayers as well as millions of dollars into the pockets of some farmers.

At the same time, they have been good corporate citizens, complying with all the details of the then-existing zoning ordinance.

In November of 2023, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution unanimously in support of wind farms in Floyd County. They tasked the Planning and Zoning Commission with developing a modern ordinance. The Planning and Zoning Commission did a comprehensive and thorough job at this task. They submitted their 27-page report to the Supervisors.

This ordinance should have been adopted as written. It has not been to date.

In 2024, Invenergy came forward with a proposal to build a wind farm in Floyd County. The total capital investment is estimated at $275 million. That is $70 million in new property tax collections generated by the project.

The project will create approximately 300 construction jobs. It is estimated to employ 10 full-time permanent wind mill technicians and managers as required.

The residents of Floyd County benefit from wind farm projects. At a time of challenging budgets, this is just the kind of revenue-producing project we need.

(Note: Economic numbers provided by the Charles City Area Development Corp.)