Will The Iowa Legislature Ban The Red Lights On Wind Turbines?

Those fields you drive by may look a bit different.

For myself (and a lot of us) the spinning wind turbines we drive by in fields can almost hypnotize us into a nap. But ones in Iowa could get a bit less colorful.

An Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill that would require wind turbines in Iowa to be equipped with 'aircraft detection lighting systems'. It's in response to landowner complaints about the red lights on them.

The bill would require new wind farms in Iowa to have those sensor-based lights and turbines already there would have to be retrofitted with the lights by the beginning of 2028. But lawmakers decided the 2028 deadline would be extended should it pass.

Rep. Dean Fisher (R, Montour) said landowners in his district have been upset about the lights from a new facility in Tama County. Fisher said the bill helps people who are "miles away" from a wind turbine farm and don't get any of the financial benefits of it.

The bill requires ADLS (aircraft detection lighting systems), which turn on when it senses aircraft approaching. They stay on until the aircraft is past the turbine and the lights will also come on if there's a problem with the sensor.

These aren't anything new in Iowa. Chaz Allen, a lobbyist representing the Iowa Utility Association, said that about 27% of wind turbines in Iowa have the sensors already. Allen said utility companies are upgrading a few of them every year instead of all at once for the sake of cost.