Four of the five members of the Tama County Zoning Commission including (back row, from left) Steven Peterson, chair Doug Dvorak, vice chair Wade Mitchell, and Craig Sash pictured during the Tuesday, March 4, meeting held at the Administration Building in Toledo. The Commission recently updated and reapproved the county’s Land Use Plan in a manner that has effectively ended the possibility of utility-scale solar development. Also pictured, Zoning Adminstrator Bob Vokoun, far left. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TOLEDO – The development of utility-scale solar in Tama County appears to have wilted in the late winter sun.

There was a notable lack of public attendance at the most recent meeting of the Tama County Zoning Commission on March 4, with only six audience seats occupied – a sixfold decrease from the previous meeting. And while a winter storm was on tap for the following day, it wasn’t the change in barometric pressure that kept folks home but rather the Commission’s Feb. 26 decision by a vote of 4-1 (Commissioner Craig Sash voting against) to limit the use of ag land with a corn suitability rating (CSR2) above an average of 60 to agricultural production only.

“Unfortunately, with the 60 CSR cap, it seems that there is not a way forward for our project in Tama County, should this cap get reflected in the final Solar Ordinance,” Elias Toshiro, a solar developer with Tyr Energy Development Renewables (TED Renewables), told the newspaper in an email following the Feb. 26 meeting. Since early 2023, TED Renewables has been working with Tama County landowner Terry Kucera to develop Draft Horse Solar east of Traer across some 960 acres in Perry and Clark townships. Kucera himself has spoken up in support of the utility-scale solar project at several Zoning public hearings and meetings including on Feb. 26, but it appears to have been for naught.

“The CSR restriction alone will effectively ban solar projects in Tama County and deny residents and the county the opportunities of a whole industry,” Toshiro wrote in an email sent in mid-February. “This is because the constraints that cause lower CSR – floodplains, slopes, wetlands, etc. – are the exact constraints that make building a solar project on that ground unfeasible.”

In tandem with the Zoning Commission’s actions on Feb. 26, the Tama County Board of Supervisors approved a motion on March 3 to accept and file with the county auditor a Feb. 13, 2025, letter from the Tama County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) commissioners reaffirming the original 1986 Land Use Plan’s first paragraph (albeit changing CSR to CSR2) which states, in part: “We would discourage the use of prime agricultural land for anything other than agricultural production, generally this would be land with a corn suitability rating (CSR) of more than 60 … There is adequate land available in Tama County with a CSR of less than 60 for non-agricultural uses.”

Zoning Commission Vice Chairman Wade Mitchel, center, draws a diagram while discussing Tama County’s utility-scale solar ordinance draft on Tuesday, March 4. Also pictured, Chairman Doug Dvorak, left, and Commissioner Craig Sash, right. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

According to Iowa State University’s most recent Land Value Survey released in Dec. 2024, the average CSR2 rating of tillable cropland in Tama County is 84; some 93% of the county’s more than 340,000 acres is currently in cropland.

Prior to the Feb. 26 meeting, Toshiro still held out hope for his project even in light of the county’s solar moratorium enacted on Jan. 6 this year, telling the newspaper, “The moratorium placed on solar projects ensures that the Zoning Commission isn’t rushed to enact an ordinance, but it also adds a lot of uncertainty regarding the future of our proposed project.”

But as of press time and barring state intervention akin to the unsuccessful legislation proposed recently by Sen. Mike Klimesh (R-Spillville) which, if passed, would have enacted a statewide ordinance on the siting and operation of renewable electric power generating facilities – effectively circumventing local control – commercial solar and its corresponding economic boost will not be clearing Tama County horizons for the foreseeable future.

Draft Horse Solar and rural Iowa

“Solar is being built across the Midwest because it is cleaner, cheaper, and complements the land better,” Toshiro told the newspaper in a Feb. 18 email. “Hundreds of landowners across Iowa have leased their land for solar projects because it’s a good deal for their families and is designed to preserve their ground until it’s returned to farm ground at the end of the lease.”

He went on to describe the many reasons why TED Renewables sees solar energy as a ‘good deal’ particularly for those in rural Iowa.

“If you care about (the) safety and health of your environment, you’ll like solar power. It is the safest form of energy generation – period. Sunshine is homegrown fuel that’s free all year round. Large-scale solar projects are good for ground water. If you rely on private well water, you know intuitively that the water is likely going to be cleaner if the land in your immediate vicinity is managed by more natural means than annual applications of pesticides.

“If you like butterflies or other pollinators, you will have a lot more of them around due to [solar farm] perennial ground cover that creates habitat for pollinators.”

Toshiro also touched on private landowner rights in a prescient warning of the Feb. 26 Zoning Commission decision.

“Tama County may choose to miss out on all these benefits while taking away landowner rights,” he continued. “The provisions which are written into the solar ordinance will determine who gets to decide how your land is used. For example, a proposed [CSR] limitation lets the government deny some families the opportunities because they own high CSR land.”

Tama County landowner Terry Kucera of Sergeant Bluff speaks during a May 2023 public hearing on utility-scale solar held in Toledo. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Another benefit of utility-scale solar Toshiro cited was tax revenue – something Tama County is sorely in need of these days in light of the current multi-million dollar general fund shortfall.

“Like all counties, Tama County would benefit from building a diverse economy and tax base … Unfortunately, in 2023, Tama County’s population was at its lowest point in at least 143 years. Less taxpayers means that every resident sees high property taxes just to maintain.”

According to Toshiro, a project like Draft Horse Solar would contribute “five times more tax revenue than the same land does today.”

“Many communities have seen how increased tax revenue from a solar project can keep taxes low for other taxpayers in the county. Solving the budget isn’t just about cutting spending – it’s about growing the tax base.”

On the Draft Horse Solar website, TED Renewables estimated the project would have generated over $6 million in tax revenue during its approximately 40-year lifespan. Such revenue could be used to “support local schools and a wide array of county services, including police, first responders and fire protection, senior services, and infrastructure.”

According to the Center for Rural Affairs, Iowa’s Replacement Tax is used to calculate applicable taxes for utility-scale solar projects by imposing a tax equivalent to 6/100 of a cent ($0.0006) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated within the state during the relevant year. After collection at the state level, this component of the tax is returned to the county.

Per Toshiro, “This Replacement Tax will generate four to five times the amount of a typical property tax.”

With TED Renewables now more than likely taking a step back from Tama County, residents can certainly expect a lot more elbow room at future Zoning Commission meetings, but what have they lost in the process? From Toshiro’s vantage point, the biggest loss is that of opportunity, he said.

“With some of the Supervisors being openly against renewable energy projects, and with only a handful of comments submitted to the Zoning Administrator, most of which are unsupportive, it is likely that these regulations which limit landowner rights and deny opportunities will stand unless the silent majority decides to speak up.”

He continued, “We’ve heard from people who believe in common sense, cutting red tape, low-cost energy, clean air, clean water, and fixing the county budget, but many of them are afraid to stand up when Tama County needs leaders.”

The next meeting of the Tama County Zoning Commission is set for Wednesday, March 26, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Administration Building in Toledo. As part of the agenda, commissioners plan to review and sign the updated Tama County Land Use Plan if the draft is ready following attorney review.