Battery Storage Tour and Information Session
LCED organized a tour of a 5 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Cedar Rapids and held an information session on the planned Nextera 75 MW BESS with battery specialists and a 3rd party battery safety consultant. The battery experts demonstrated confidence in their ability to safely manage large BESS installations.
Fact Finding Task Force Recommendations
After visiting three very different solar farms in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the Linn County citizens and officials of the Fact Finding Task Force developed a set of recommendations. The recommendations are designed to strike an optimal balance between the desires of developers, farmers hosting solar and neighboring homeowners, landowners and communities.
Fact Finding Task Force Visits Badger Hollow, WI Solar Farm
Badger Hollow is a 300 MW solar farm in Wisconsin being built by Invenergy. The first 150 MW were coming on line when a group of citizens and officials from Linn County visited the site. Badger Hollow is unique because the solar panel arrays are just one panel tall and it is being built on 3500 acres. What was learned is documented in 8 pages of detailed notes with pictures.
Fact Finding Task Force Visits
Marshall Minnesota Solar Farm
Marshall Minnesota is a 62 MW solar farm constructed by Nextera in 2016. It is notable because it has short grass pollinator prairie planted throughout the site. Citizens and officials from Linn County visited the site to better understand how the short grass pollinator prairie was established and how it is being maintained. What was learned is documented in 4 pages of notes with pictures.
Fact Finding Task Force Visits
Wapello Solar Farm
A group of citizens and officials from Linn County toured the 100 MW Wapello Solar Farm in September 2021 to learn, firsthand, about how the construction and operation of the solar farm affected the community. Citizens and officials asked the engineer, project managers, operators, maintenance workers and Louisa County officials dozens of questions. What the citizens and officials learned is documented in 8 pages of detailed notes.
