September 26, 2023
By Mike Putz

Wind turbine repowering project comes with agreements for landowners

A crane sits next to a bladeless turbine at Greenbacker Renewable Energy wind farm. Mike Putz

When Elk Wind Farm approached Bob and Therese Beswick about constructing a wind turbine on their property in 2010, the couple declined the offer. The Beswicks live and farm west of Greeley, Iowa, near a 17-turbine wind farm that now dots the landscape between Greeley and Edgewood.

The Beswicks purchased neighboring farms in 2014 and 2020, each with a wind turbine already on them. So when Elk Wind Farm was sold to Greenbacker Renewable Energy, a company that planned to repower the wind turbines with different nacelles and longer blades, the couple found themselves — along with the other landowners — negotiating with the new wind farm owners.

The Beswicks remain opposed to the turbines and do not want turbines on their land.

“We are not against any kind of power — wind, solar or nuclear,” Therese Beswick explained. “We are true farmers. We want to see green corn and green beans on farms. For us, we don’t want to see a natural resource taken out of production to use for another natural resource. We don’t agree with that.”

Jay Funke and his brother, Mike, own a farm north of the Beswick’s home and have two turbines on their property. When Elk Wind Farm came around in 2011, Funke’s parents, Jim and Kathy, were alive and negotiated with the company.

“Dad was active in it, but when they came to talk to him, he asked me to become involved immediately so I knew what was going on for future years,” Funke said.

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors held several recent meetings on the repowering proposal, with many landowners in attendance, as well as Greenbacker Renewable Energy representative Justin Fike.

Because the replacement blades would be longer, Greenbacker requested variances to an ordinance the supervisors set earlier regarding blade length. That request came at a meeting in November 2022, passing 2-1, with supervisor Shirley Helmrichs voting against granting the variances.

Each turbine takes up approximately an acre, including a driveway used to access each turbine. The company pays a monthly lease fee for the turbines.

Neither the Beswicks nor Funke would disclose the lease agreement fee, although Therese Beswick said Greenbacker increased landowner compensation from what Elk Wind Farm paid.

Landowners said they were concerned with the amount of noise the turbines produce as well as how they will be handled when their operating life is done.

“The increase wasn’t as important to us as things like the noise study, the decommissioning fee, those were important,” Therese Beswick. “If this company goes defunct in 15 years, is it going to be the landowners paying for the turbines to come down? Is it going to be the taxpayers? We don’t want a dead wind farm sitting there not producing.”

As Therese Beswick studied the previous agreement, she found that a decommissioning bond — money that would pay for the removal of the turbines and bases, was not scheduled to begin until 2026, with the company required to fund a bond of $850,000. In the new agreement, the decommissioning bond is immediately funded with an A-rated bond company and will be evaluated every five years.

A noise study not in the initial agreement is also in the new one. Landowners negotiated for an on-the-ground noise study at four of the noisiest points in the area. The two sides developed a legal path forward for the landowners if there are noise issues, with a step-by-step course of action and legal penalties for Greenbacker if high decibel noise is not addressed within 24 hours of it being detected.

The original lease agreement with Elk Wind Farm and landowners was for 30 years, running until 2041. Greenbacker Renewable Energy proposed extending the lease until 2062. Neither the Beswicks nor Funke were in favor of that.

“In 30 years, they would be dealing with a new group of younger people,” Funke said. “We wanted to do as much as we could so we were protecting the next generation so they know we were trying not to make it a burden.”

A new lease runs from 2024 to 2044. As part of the new agreement, Greenbacker will not repower the turbines on the Beswick farms.

Both the Beswicks and Funke credited Fike for his honesty through the negotiation process.

“Justin did a fantastic job. He cleaned up a mess,” Therese Beswick said, with Funke adding, “Justin was outstanding to deal with. He was very upfront.”

Fike said it was important for Greenbacker to work with the landowners.

“Ultimately, we were very pleased to be able to get all landowners on board and find a way to find a solution that may not be perfect for either side but kind of demonstrated we had good intentions and wanted to see this through and make sure the public was treated well and treated as a partner on the project,” Fike said.

While federal tax credits are still available for Greenbacker, recent legislation states repowering projects are not eligible for an additional six-year tax abatement. As a result, Delaware County will continue to receive the same level of tax revenue as it did from the Elk Wind Farm.

Madlom said his support came down to landowner rights.

“What finally made me vote for it was that the landowners had the decision to let them repower. If the landowner said no, they couldn’t do it.”

Funke said the negotiations resulted in a win-win for every affected landowner.

“Some mistakes from the first agreement were corrected. We didn’t get everything we wanted and Greenbacker didn’t either,” Funke said. “But in any agreement, there is always an element of compromise. I think all parties went into this in good faith and that helps reach an agreement that can be viable for both parties.”