House Study Bill 317 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON LUNDGREN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the siting and operation of renewable 1 electric power generating facilities. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js
H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 476.53A, Code 2025, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 476.53A Renewable electric power generation. 3 1. It is the intent of the general assembly to encourage 4 the development of renewable electric power generation. It 5 is also the intent of the general assembly to encourage the 6 use of renewable power to meet local electric needs and the 7 development of transmission capacity to export wind excess 8 power generated in Iowa. 9 2. To implement the intent of the general assembly and 10 promote uniformity, the standards in this section shall 11 apply to the approval by local authorities of all wind energy 12 conversion facilities proposed after January 1, 2025. 13 3. For purposes of this section, unless the context 14 otherwise requires: 15 a. Abutting dwelling means an occupied building or 16 structure used primarily for human habitation that is located 17 on nonparticipating property. 18 b. Battery energy storage system means an electrochemical 19 device that charges, or collects, energy from the grid or a 20 generation facility, stores that energy, and then discharges 21 that energy at a later time to provide electricity or other 22 grid services. 23 c. Community building means any one or more of the 24 following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date 25 that the application for approval, rezoning, or a special or 26 conditional use permit is filed with the county: a school, a 27 place of worship, a day care facility, a public library, or a 28 community center. 29 d. Local authority means a city as defined in section 30 362.2 or a county as provided in chapter 331. 31 e. Nonparticipating property means any real property owned 32 by a person who has not granted written permission, consent, 33 an easement, or other similar agreement pertaining to a wind 34 energy conversion facility on such property. 35 -1- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 1/ 12
H.F. _____ f. Public road right-of-way means the same as defined in 1 section 306.3. 2 g. Railroad right-of-way means the same as defined in 3 section 476.27. 4 h. Renewable electric power generation facility means 5 a battery energy storage system, a solar energy conversion 6 facility, or a wind energy conversion facility. 7 i. Repowering means the same as defined in section 476.53. 8 j. Solar energy conversion facility means a solar energy 9 conversion facility, as defined in section 476C.1, that has 10 a nameplate generating capacity greater than one hundred 11 kilowatts. 12 k. Unoccupied structure means a building or structure that 13 is not occupied or used primarily for human habitation at the 14 time of siting. 15 l. Wind energy conversion facility or facility means a 16 wind energy conversion facility, as defined in section 476C.1, 17 or a wind turbine that is part of a wind energy conversion 18 system, that has a nameplate generating capacity greater than 19 one hundred kilowatts. 20 4. a. A local authority may determine setback standards 21 for wind energy conversion facilities that, notwithstanding any 22 statute or regulation to the contrary, shall be no greater than 23 and shall not include any setback requirements beyond those in 24 this subsection: 25 (1) The facility shall be sited two times the total height 26 of a wind energy conversion facility to be constructed on 27 a proposed facility from any existing abutting dwelling or 28 community building. 29 (2) The facility shall be sited one and one-tenth times 30 the total height of a wind energy conversion facility to 31 be constructed on a proposed facility from any existing 32 nonparticipating property. 33 (3) The facility shall be sited one and one-tenth times 34 the total height of a wind energy conversion facility to be 35 -2- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 2/ 12
H.F. _____ constructed on a proposed facility from any existing overhead 1 utility line, electric substation, public road right-of-way, 2 railroad right-of-way, or unoccupied structure. 3 (4) Each wind turbine shall not exceed the height allowed 4 under the determination of no hazard for that turbine from the 5 federal aviation administration obstruction evaluation under 6 14 C.F.R. pt. 77. 7 b. For purposes of this subsection, the facility site 8 distance shall be measured from the center of the wind energy 9 conversion facility foundation to the nearest point of the 10 abutting dwelling, community building, nonparticipating 11 property, overhead utility line, electric substation, public 12 road right-of-way, railroad right-of-way, or unoccupied 13 structure. 14 c. For purposes of this subsection, the total height of 15 a wind energy conversion facility shall be measured as the 16 distance from ground level to the tip of the wind energy 17 conversion facilitys blade at its highest vertical point. 18 5. A local authority may determine setback standards 19 for solar energy conversion facilities. For purposes of 20 this subsection, distance shall be measured from the nearest 21 aboveground point of a solar facility, not including any 22 fencing, to the nearest point of the abutting dwelling, 23 overhead utility line, electric substation, nonparticipating 24 property line, public road right-of-way, railroad right-of-way, 25 or unoccupied structure. The standards shall be no greater 26 than: 27 a. Fifty feet from the near edge of any existing 28 nonparticipating property line or one hundred feet from any 29 existing abutting dwelling or community building, whichever is 30 greater. 31 b. Fifty feet from any existing overhead utility line, 32 substation, public road right-of-way, or railroad right-of-way. 33 6. A local authority may determine setback standards 34 for battery energy storage systems. For purposes of this 35 -3- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 3/ 12
H.F. _____ subsection, distance shall be measured from the nearest storage 1 container edge to the nearest point of the abutting dwelling, 2 overhead utility line, electric substation, nonparticipating 3 property line, public road right-of-way, railroad right-of-way, 4 or unoccupied structure. The standards shall be no greater 5 than: 6 a. Fifty feet from any existing participating property line. 7 b. One hundred feet from any existing nonparticipating 8 property line or any existing abutting dwelling or community 9 building. 10 c. Fifty feet from any existing nonassociated transmission, 11 substation, or distribution lines. 12 d. Fifty feet from any public road right-of-way or railroad 13 right-of-way. 14 7. A local authority may only implement the following 15 additional standards and only to the extent specified in this 16 subsection: 17 a. A shadow flicker standard that is no more restrictive 18 than thirty hours per year under planned operating conditions 19 as indicated by industry standard computer modeling measured 20 from an abutting dwelling or community building. 21 b. A sound limitation that is no more restrictive than 22 a maximum forty-seven decibel sound from the wind energy 23 conversion facility as measured at an existing abutting 24 dwelling or community building. Decibel modeling shall use the 25 A-weighted scale as designed by the American national standards 26 institute. Sound modeling shall be completed by a professional 27 board-certified by the institute of noise control engineering, 28 or an appropriately licensed professional engineer. 29 c. A requirement that the applicant of a proposed wind 30 energy conversion facility shall agree to repair or replace any 31 damaged drainage infrastructure if directly attributable to the 32 construction or operation of the facility. 33 d. A requirement that renewable electric power generation 34 facilities meet all applicable national electric safety code 35 -4- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 4/ 12
H.F. _____ and international building code requirements. 1 e. A requirement that renewable electric power generation 2 facilities meet all applicable provisions of national fire 3 protection association standard 855. 4 f. A requirement that renewable electric power generation 5 facilities for fencing are no more restrictive than the 6 requirement issued by the national electric safety code. 7 g. A requirement for solar energy conversion facilities 8 to maintain appropriate ground cover within the solar energy 9 conversion facilitys fence line throughout the life of the 10 facility to minimize erosion. 11 h. A height requirement for solar energy conversion 12 facilities for a minimum one and one-half feet panel height 13 from the ground, exclusive of supporting infrastructure, with 14 no additional or higher minimum height requirements for the 15 solar energy conversion facility. 16 8. A local authority must provide a process for the owner of 17 any abutting dwelling, nonparticipating property, or community 18 building to waive the standards in this section or those 19 adopted by a local authority. 20 9. A local authority must use reasonable estimates of the 21 cost of approving an application for a facility, which shall 22 not exceed one thousand dollars per wind energy conversion 23 system, solar energy conversion system, or battery energy 24 storage system. A local authority may not require the facility 25 owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for administrative or road 26 work that is not specifically and uniquely attributable to the 27 approval and construction of the facility. 28 10. A local authority shall not prohibit or regulate testing 29 activities undertaken by a wind energy conversion facility 30 owner for purposes of determining the suitability of the 31 placement of a wind energy conversion facility. 32 11. Ordinances, limitations, or other requirements imposed 33 after an application for approval, rezoning, or a special 34 or conditional use permit for a renewable electric power 35 -5- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 5/ 12
H.F. _____ generation facility has been submitted or previously approved 1 shall not be construed to limit or impair the construction, 2 operation, or maintenance of the renewable electric power 3 generation facility. 4 12. A local authority shall not prohibit an affected 5 landowner or other entity from waiving any requirements under 6 this section by the conveyance of an easement or other property 7 interest. 8 13. a. A local authority may require the owner of the 9 proposed renewable electric power generation facility to file 10 with the county recorder of the county or counties in which 11 the proposed facility will be located a decommissioning plan 12 outlining measures that will be taken to return the land to 13 a reasonably similar state to the condition that existed 14 before construction of the renewable electric power generation 15 facility. Removal requirements of underground project 16 infrastructure may not exceed a maximum depth of four feet. If 17 the proposed facility will be located within two miles of the 18 corporate limits of a city, the owner of the proposed facility 19 may also be required to file the plan with the city clerk. A 20 local authority shall not require a revision or amendment of 21 a decommissioning plan. 22 b. A local authority may require the owner to provide 23 in the decommissioning plan proof of financial assurance to 24 fund decommissioning efforts, which assurance is calculated 25 by an independent third party as the estimated costs of 26 decommissioning, inclusive of net salvage value, no earlier 27 than the following schedule: 28 (1) Five percent of determined decommissioning costs 29 committed by the initial commercial operation date. 30 (2) One hundred percent of determined decommissioning costs 31 committed by the fifteenth year of commercial operation. 32 c. After the fifteenth year of commercial operation, the 33 owner of the renewable electric power generation facility 34 may reestimate the cost of decommissioning, inclusive of net 35 -6- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 6/ 12
H.F. _____ salvage value, using an independent third party for the purpose 1 of redetermining the amount required for financial assurance. 2 d. Evidence of financial security may be in the form of a 3 surety bond, collateral bond, parent guaranty, cash, cashiers 4 check, certificate of deposit, bank joint custody receipt, or 5 other approved negotiable instrument. 6 e. This subsection shall not apply to a renewable electric 7 power generation facility owned or operated by a public utility 8 regulated by the Iowa utilities commission. 9 14. A renewable electric power generation facility shall be 10 presumed abandoned if the facility fails to operate for more 11 than twenty-four consecutive months without generating energy, 12 excluding repowering or required maintenance events or force 13 majeure events outside of the owners control. The owner of 14 the abandoned facility shall be responsible for the removal of 15 the facility, including the removal of infrastructure four feet 16 below ground level and subject to any reasonable additional 17 conditions of a decommissioning plan filed with the local 18 authority. 19 15. a. This section shall not apply to a wind energy 20 conversion facility that has a nameplate capacity of 21 twenty-five or more megawatts on any single gathering line 22 and if the facility has applied for certification pursuant to 23 chapter 476A. 24 b. This section shall not apply to a renewable electric 25 power generation facility that is operating or has submitted 26 an application for the issuance of permits on or before the 27 effective date of this Act. 28 c. This section shall not apply to the repowering of a wind 29 energy conversion facility existing on or before January 1, 30 2025. 31 d. This section shall not apply to the repowering of a 32 renewable electric power generation facility, which is not 33 already excluded under paragraph c , existing on or before 34 January 1, 2025, provided that the repowering does not require 35 -7- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 7/ 12
H.F. _____ the issuance of any new permits, or amendments to existing 1 permits, from a local authority. This section shall apply 2 to the repowering of a renewable electric power generation 3 facility existing on or before January 1, 2025, when such 4 repowering requires the issuance of any new permits, or 5 amendments to existing permits, from a local authority. 6 16. a. A local authority within one hundred twenty calendar 7 days of receiving an application requesting approval, rezoning, 8 or a special or conditional use permit for a renewable electric 9 power generation facility, or modification of an approved 10 siting, rezoning, or special or conditional use permit, shall 11 comply with the following provisions: 12 (1) Review the application for conformity with applicable 13 local zoning regulations, building permit requirements, and 14 consistency with this chapter. An application is deemed to 15 be complete unless the local authority notifies the applicant 16 in writing, within thirty calendar days of submission of the 17 application, specifying the deficiencies in the application 18 that, if cured, would make the application complete. The local 19 authoritys time frame to review the application is tolled 20 beginning the date the notice is sent. The local authoritys 21 time frame of one hundred twenty days for review of the 22 application shall continue running when the applicant cures the 23 specified deficiencies. Following the applicants supplemental 24 submission, the local authority has ten days to notify the 25 applicant if the supplemental submission did not provide the 26 information identified in the original notice that specified 27 deficiencies in the application. The local authoritys time 28 frame of one hundred twenty days to review the application 29 is tolled in the case of second or subsequent notices in 30 conformance with this subparagraph. The local authority 31 shall not include deficiencies in a second or subsequent 32 notice that were not delineated in the original notice. The 33 local authoritys time frame for review does not toll if the 34 local authority requests information regarding any of the 35 -8- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 8/ 12
H.F. _____ considerations a local authority may not consider according to 1 this section. 2 (2) Make its final decision to approve or disapprove the 3 application. 4 (3) Advise the applicant in writing of its final decision. 5 b. A local authority must approve, approve with 6 modifications, or deny an application requesting approval, 7 rezoning, or a special or conditional use permit for a 8 renewable electric power generation facility or modification 9 of an approved rezoning or special or conditional use permit 10 within one hundred twenty days of the submission of an 11 application. 12 c. Denial of an application for approval, rezoning, or a 13 special or conditional use permit by a local authority must 14 be based on substantial evidence in the record of material 15 noncompliance with one or more specific provisions of this 16 section or regulations of local authorities that are not 17 inconsistent with this section. An appeal of such a denial by 18 an adversely affected party may be brought by certiorari as 19 provided in sections 335.18 and 335.19. The reviewing court 20 shall expedite the proceeding to the extent practicable. 21 17. a. A local authority shall not adopt regulations 22 that explicitly or implicitly disallow a renewable electric 23 power generation facility from being developed or operated 24 in any district zoned to allow agricultural or industrial 25 use. A local authority may not prohibit or otherwise limit 26 renewable electric power generation facility development 27 based on corn suitability rating as calculated using the 28 methodology recognized by the Iowa state university of science 29 and technology. A local authority may not limit the size of 30 any specific project or create caps on projects based on total 31 land mass within the local jurisdiction. 32 b. A local authority may place one temporary moratorium 33 for up to six months on the installation of a wind energy 34 conversion facility for the purpose of adopting new regulations 35 -9- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 9/ 12
H.F. _____ that are consistent with this section. All new, revised, 1 or amended ordinances or regulations pertaining to solar or 2 solar energy conversion facilities shall only be prospectively 3 applied. 4 c. Nothing in this section requires a local authority 5 to adopt standards for approval of renewable electric power 6 generation facilities. 7 Sec. 2. COMPLIANCE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES. If any local 8 authority has a standard in effect on or after the effective 9 date of this Act that does not comply with the provisions in 10 this Act, the local authority must amend the standard to comply 11 with this Act by December 31, 2025. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 This bill relates to siting and operation of certain 16 renewable electric power generation facilities. 17 The bill creates standard-making ability for local 18 authorities approving a renewable electric power generation 19 facility (facility) proposed after January 1, 2025. 20 The bill sets guidelines for a local authority to implement 21 a facility setback standard, which shall include a facilitys 22 distance from specified existing buildings based on the 23 facilitys height. The local authority must include a process 24 for an owner of an abutting dwelling, nonparticipating 25 property, or community building to waive the setback standards. 26 The bill includes additional standards a local authority 27 may implement including shadow flicker standards, sound 28 limitations, a requirement that an applicant for a proposed 29 facility shall agree to repair any damages caused by the 30 facility, wind turbine height limitations, electric code 31 and building code standards, fire protection standards, 32 fencing limitations, ground cover standards, and solar energy 33 conversion facility panel height requirements. 34 The bill requires a local authority to utilize reasonable 35 -10- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 10/ 12
H.F. _____ estimates for application approval costs and prohibits the 1 local authority from requiring the facility owner to pay for 2 administration or road work that is not directly attributable 3 to the approval and construction of the facility. A local 4 authority shall not prohibit or regulate a facility testing the 5 suitability of a facility placement. Any regulations enacted 6 after the application for a facility permit shall not limit the 7 construction, operation, or maintenance of that facility. A 8 local authority shall not prohibit an affected landowner or 9 other entity from waiving requirements by conveyance of an 10 easement. 11 The bill provides that a local authority may require a 12 facility that is not owned or operated by a public utility 13 regulated by the Iowa utilities commission to file a 14 decommissioning plan including certain measures. The local 15 authority is prohibited from requiring a facility to provide a 16 revision or amendment of a decommissioning plan. 17 The bill requires a facility to be presumed abandoned if 18 the facility has not been in operation for 24 months, with 19 some exceptions. The owner of the abandoned facility is 20 responsible for removing the facility and is subject to any 21 other reasonable conditions in the decommissioning plan if 22 applicable. 23 The bill shall not apply to a wind energy conversion facility 24 with a nameplate capacity of 25 or more megawatts and that has 25 applied for certification under Code chapter 476A, a facility 26 that is currently operating or has applied for certification 27 before the enactment of the bill, or the repowering of a 28 facility existing on or before January 1, 2025, subject to 29 certain conditions. 30 The bill requires a local authority to approve a request 31 by a facility if the request is in compliance with the bill. 32 A local authority shall issue a decision on a request by a 33 facility within 120 days of the request submission. The denial 34 of a request shall be supported by substantial evidence of 35 -11- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 11/ 12
H.F. _____ noncompliance by the facility. 1 The bill prohibits a local authority from disallowing the 2 development of a facility in an agricultural or industrial 3 district. The bill provides that a local authority may not 4 prohibit or otherwise limit renewable electric power generation 5 facility development based on corn suitability rating as 6 calculated using the methodology recognized by the Iowa state 7 university of science and technology. The bill prohibits a 8 local authority from limiting the size of any specific project 9 or creating caps on projects based on total land mass within 10 the local jurisdiction. 11 The bill allows a local authority to place one temporary 12 moratorium for up to six months on the installation of a 13 wind energy conversion facility for the purpose of adopting 14 new regulations that are consistent with the bill. The bill 15 provides that all new, revised, or amended ordinances or 16 regulations pertaining to solar or solar energy conversion 17 facilities shall only be prospectively applied. 18 The bill expounds that a local authority is not required 19 to adopt standards for approval of renewable electric power 20 generation facilities; however, a local authority with existing 21 siting standards in effect on or after the effective date 22 of the bill that do not comply with the bill must amend the 23 standards to comply with the bill by December 31, 2025. 24 -12- LSB 2223YC (5) 91 sb/js 12/ 12