New landowners group forms in county

October 10, 2013

By Lindsay Hoeppner

staff writer

PRIMGHAR—An increased interest in wind development in O’Brien County has led to the formation of a landowners association.

"We support the development of wind energy, transmission and the process of getting it to the consumer," said Daryl Haack of rural Primghar to the O’Brien County Board of Supervisors at its weekly meeting Tuesday in Primghar.

Haack is serving as president of the O’Brien County Landowners Association Board of Directors, which includes five other voting members and two ex-officio, nonvoting individuals.

The group’s focus is on establishing a committee to oversee the proposed 500-megawatt Highland wind farm in rural O’Brien County.

"We will help those who don’t have contracts negotiate outside of the Highland wind project and also if there’s things to negotiate inside the Highland project, we would be a voice for the whole group instead of each individual landowner trying to meet with the corporation, which may or may not be a good idea," Haack said.

The county board of supervisors in August approved a wind energy device permit, allowing Highland Wind Energy — a subsidiary of Invenergy Wind Development of Chicago — to move forward in its partnership with MidAmerican Energy Co. to construct 218 wind turbines.

The turbines — each capable of producing 2.3 megawatts of electricity — will be built over 70,000 acres of farmland throughout O’Brien County, although primarily in Highland, Center, Dale and Summit townships. Each wind turbine, including the access road, typically will take up less than one acre of land.

The wind turbines will connect to MidAmerican’s existing 345-kilovolt power line that travels southwest to northeast at a diagonal angle along Highway 59 through O’Brien County.

Haack said the association also will be involved in Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners’ plan for a 500-mile direct current transmission line to move wind energy from N’West Iowa to the power grid near Morris, IL. The line is proposed to begin two miles southeast of Sanborn and travel east-central through O’Brien County.

The fate of that project will be decided by the Iowa Utilities Board at a yet-to-be-scheduled public hearing in Grundy Center — the line’s halfway point — but supervisors chairman Tom Farnsworth of Archer said it has created a "big riff" among O’Brien County landowners.

"What I’m hearing is the people who are for it are not speaking out," Farnsworth said. "The ones that are speaking out are the ones that are against it, and I’m hearing they’re putting out all these myths and rumors."

Haack said the landowners association is not against either the Clean Line or Highland projects, but it is aimed at supporting its members.

"If we support Clean Line or MidAmerican or whoever, it kind of makes it hard for us to negotiate with them," he said.

Haack said the association does not necessarily want to be seen as taking the company’s sides, but it also is not protesting either project.

"We promote them, but we don’t want to be seen as being in their back pocket," he said.

Haack said the benefits of landowners association include transparency, shared resources, avoiding divided communities and collective bargaining. The group also can pay one attorney fee instead of each landowner covering the costs, and it will utilize the services of lawyer Scott Buchanan, a partner at Buchanan, Bibler, Gabor & Meis in Algona.

The group’s goal is to sign up 10,000 acres of farmland this year in O’Brien County.

"We’re currently between 1,000-2,000 acres," Haack said, and the group has only had one open meeting since the association was organized. "We’re in the process now of contacting more people and more landowners for membership."

Farnsworth applauded the group’s efforts.

"It’s a good organization," he said. "I think you’re doing good."

BOARD MEMBERS:

Daryl Haack, rural Primghar, president

Jon Van Beek, rural Primghar, vice president

Fran Peelen, rural Sanborn, secretary

Paul Mugge, rural Sutherland, treasurer

Steve Taylor, rural Hartley

Joe Sikora, rural Primghar

Chris Nuckols, rural Sheldon, ex-officio

State Sen. David Johnson, Ocheyedan, ex-officio

MEMBERSHIP DUES:

The O’Brien County Landowners Association Board of Directors established a one-time $100 membership fee with a 50-cent-per-acre-per year-due unless waived by the board. The organization is nonprofit, so all dues are tax-deductible.