Spirit Lake, Iowa — The lawyer for a company planning to install wind turbines in northwest Iowa says Dickinson County Supervisors do not have the authority to pass a moratorium that would block the project.
Kristy Rogers, an attorney for Invenergy, says the company has spent millions of dollars following the rules outlined in the county’s current ordinance and is close to seeking a construction permit from Dickinson County supervisors.
Jamie Hunter is with a group asking FOR the moratorium as county officials review the ordinance regulating where wind turbines may be located. Hunter says other Iowa counties have taken that step.
Documents filed with the federal government indicate Invenergy is planning to install over 100 wind turbines in Dickinson County. The county’s planning and zoning board has indicated it’s willing to start a review of the Dickinson County’s wind power ordinance. Critics of Invenergy’s project say without a moratorium, the company is likely to be granted a construction permit while that review of the ordinance is underway.
