Highland Wind Farm Decommissioning Agreement Discussion Continues
Because the 500 MW Highland Wind Farm is undergoing a major repowering process with existing components being changed out and upgraded with new more efficient components plus the addition of an Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS), the wind farm owner and the O’Brien County Board of Supervisors must enter into a new Decommissioning Agreement. These complex and detailed discussions have been ongoing for several weeks.
With the original Decommissioning Agreement entered into back on Oct. 9, 2013, the O’Brien County’s Wind Energy Device Ordinance requires an updated Decommissioning Plan that outlines the anticipated means and proposed financing methods adequate to remove the Highland Wind Farm, after being repowered, if it should incur a period of being inoperable.
Decommissioning a wind farm typically entails the removal of all wind energy devices, facilities, additional upgrades including to rotors, nacelles, towers, all step-up transformers, all overhead transmission and underground power collection systems and access roads unless the landowner wish to keep the roads. Also requiring removal are all cement foundations, pads, underground electrical cables and any underground wind energy structures to a minimum depth of four’. All areas must then be regraded, topsoil restored and then seeded.
At the Tuesday, June 16, 2026 O’Brien County Board of Supervisors meeting, the Highland Wind Farm Repowering Team consisting of project developer Alex Behnke, associate project director Caden Easter and associate project outreach manager John Huff discussed in greater detail what an agreed to Decommissioning Agreement will look like. The owner’s attorney, Lee Greenwald, joined in on the discussion virtually.
Why Wind Turbines or Wind Farms Require Decommissioning
Greenwald began the discussion by describing the conversation he has been having with O’Brien County Attorney Katie Morgan. One primary discussion has centered on how to determine when a wind turbine or an entire wind farm has become inoperable and stops generating electricity for an extended period of time.
Morgan had recently proposed one questionable change to the original text that she felt could be made. The proposed change that Morgan offered was that the wind farm owner could file a report regarding “the amount of electricity production on a per turbine bases. We are discussing that internally and it would be really challenging for us,” Greenwald reported. “That’s one item we are trying to finalize with Katie.”
Being the wind farm’s owner/operator, Greenwald then noted how the owner is required to report the total amount of electricity generated across the entire wind farm to the Energy Information Agency (EIA).
Greenwald suggested that this matter might be the one issue holding up progress on getting beyond a decommissioning agreement approval. The per turbine energy output reporting is what’s so questionable. Unlike an entire wind farm energy production report, it’s the feasibility of arriving at a per turbine energy production figure that’s most in question.
A repowering team member went on to describe in a hypothetical sense what it might look like if a turbine site or two were not operational for a period of 180 days or whatever, then they would be obligated to report that situation to the County. The turbine manufacturer and the local wind farm operations and maintenance personnel would rather take the time and spend the money to repair the turbine than to decommission a problematic turbine site, suggested associate project director Caden Easter.
Easter also suggested that having a 180 day or a 12-month requirement for reporting a problematic turbine site being inoperable and then undergoing a decommissioning wasn’t really that feasible. Easter suggested it would always be better to get that turbine repaired and back to where it is operational.
County Supervisor Barb Rohwer asked how many turbines in the wind farm currently aren’t functioning. “To my understanding, there have been only two of the 104 turbines in the O’Brien Wind Farm over the last 2 years. One has been fully repaired and the other is in the process od being repaired,” reported Behnke. “I can’t speak for the Highland Wind Farm. We are obligated to tell the County what efforts we are being taking to repair a problematic turbine.
“We will never leave a County high and dry. We are an investment grade, rate regulated public utility. Hopefully, we are a company that never goes away and will never leave an operational wind farm. That scenario just will not happen. I don’t see a scenario where we will decommission one or two turbines. I do take your concern into account,” Easter stated.
“I do know they try as hard as possible to repair a downed turbine. Our job is energy production,” replied Easter.
When an observer asked the Repowering Team members if they were aware of an entire wind farm in Iowa, or any other state, that had undergone a decommissioning procedure, “To my knowledge, I am not. I am personally not aware of that ever happening in our company’s history,” replied a team member.
Another team member reported, I am aware that the first ever NW Iowa wind farm built in the late 1990’s and located in Buena Vista and northeast Cherokee County will be going through what’s called a full scrape repowering process. Their old lattice towers will be completely removed and the newer style 3 section, 260’ tall tube-shaped towers will be put back in place.
“With our first wind farm built back in 2004, I think we are realistically still a decade or so from decommissioning our first entire wind farm,” a team member speculated.
In a follow up email, Easter reported, “The turbines are expected to have a 30-year operational life after the current repowering. So, 2057 would be the estimated end of their operational life after these current repowering projects.”
Stantec Consulting Services was contracted to prepare a report regarding a hypothetical situation where the turbines in the 250 MW O’Brien Wind Project were decommissioned after a completed repowering project. A summary of their estimated costs and revenues associated with a decommissioning project was prepared and also included. Stantec’s estimated cost for decommissioning the 250 MW wind farm came to $15,213,980.
The decision on the new Highland Wind Farm Decommissioning Agreement is still up for further discussion and consequently still pending.
— Loren G. Flaugh
