House File 2534 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2534 BY THOMSON , GOLDING , SHERMAN , and HAYES A BILL FOR An Act relating to wind turbine inspections and the creation of 1 a legislative wind energy consulting committee. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 6243YH (5) 90 lh/js

H.F. 2534 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 476.50 Wind turbines —— inspections 1 and reporting. 2 1. Mandatory inspections. A wind turbine in this state 3 shall be inspected at least once each year as provided in this 4 subsection. 5 a. The inspection shall be conducted according to industry 6 standards and best practices as identified by the board and in 7 consultation with relevant stakeholders. 8 b. The owner or operator of a wind turbine shall be 9 responsible for ensuring the completion of the inspection 10 each year and shall report the compliance with the inspection 11 standards provided in paragraph “a” . 12 c. An inspection may be performed by an on-site technician 13 or contracted third party. 14 d. An inspection must be performed within fifteen days of a 15 lightning storm or high-wind event detected near a wind farm. 16 e. The owner or operator must inspect common wind turbines 17 for industry-known vulnerabilities within three months of an 18 industry-defined trend or after a turbine failure. 19 f. An inspection is required on a wind turbine 20 underperforming against the power curve specification to 21 determine the cause of the degradation. 22 2. Inspection report. The owner or operator shall submit a 23 report to the board each year pursuant to this subsection. 24 a. The report shall include the assets of a wind turbine, 25 the safety record of the wind turbine, inspection records 26 for the wind turbine, and the performance data for the wind 27 turbine. 28 b. The report shall include but not be limited to the 29 following: 30 (1) A description of the wind turbine inspected. 31 (2) The date and time of the inspection. 32 (3) The qualifications of the inspector. 33 (4) A detailed summary of the inspection findings, 34 including any identified defects, damages, or potential safety 35 -1- LSB 6243YH (5) 90 lh/js 1/ 3

H.F. 2534 hazards. Damages shall be defined by severity, type of damage, 1 and the turbine make and model. 2 (5) Recommendations for corrective action, if necessary. 3 3. Board review and action. The board shall review the 4 inspection report and may take any action necessary to ensure 5 the safety and reliability of the wind turbine, including: 6 a. Requiring the owner or operator to implement corrective 7 action to address an identified defect or hazard. 8 b. Ordering the wind turbine operation to cease if the wind 9 turbine poses an imminent threat to public safety. 10 c. Taking other appropriate enforcement action. 11 4. Public access to inspection reports. The board shall 12 provide an inspection report upon request from the public, 13 subject to reasonable limitations to protect confidential 14 business information. 15 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 476.50A Legislative wind energy 16 consulting committee. 17 1. A legislative wind energy consulting committee 18 is created for the purpose of overseeing wind energy 19 sustainability and financing by inquiring into the financing, 20 safety, and environmental impact of wind power in this state, 21 and reporting recommendations to the general assembly. 22 2. The committee shall consist of four voting members of 23 the senate to be appointed by the president of the senate and 24 four members of the house of representatives to be appointed by 25 the speaker of the house of representatives, and one person who 26 is not a member of the general assembly to be chosen jointly 27 by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of 28 representatives. 29 3. The committee shall submit a report to the general 30 assembly each year by November 1. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill relates to wind turbine inspections and the 35 -2- LSB 6243YH (5) 90 lh/js 2/ 3

H.F. 2534 creation of a legislative wind energy consulting committee. 1 The bill requires a wind turbine in the state to be inspected 2 annually by standards identified by the Iowa utilities board 3 (board). Inspections may be completed by a third party, but 4 the owner or operator of the wind turbine is responsible for 5 reporting that the inspection occurred in compliance with the 6 standards identified by the board. An inspection shall take 7 place within 15 days of a lightning storm or high-wind event 8 near the wind turbine. If a wind turbine is underperforming, 9 an inspection is required to determine the cause of the 10 degradation. 11 The bill requires an owner or operator of the wind turbine 12 to submit a report to the board each year containing assets, 13 safety records, inspection records, and performance data for 14 the wind turbine. The board shall review the report and may 15 take action to ensure the safety of the wind turbine, including 16 requiring corrective action and ceasing operation of the wind 17 turbine. 18 The bill requires the board to provide the public access 19 to the annual reports subject to reasonable limitations on 20 confidential business information. 21 The bill creates a legislative wind energy consulting 22 committee to oversee wind energy sustainability and financing. 23 The committee shall submit a report including recommendations 24 to the general assembly each year by November 1. 25 -3- LSB 6243YH (5) 90 lh/js 3/ 3