Cedar Rapids will help give Iowa another wind power boost. It will add two 88-foot turbines to its south side.
Fleck Sales, 11125 High Life Ct. SW, plans to install the pair, which are considered small wind turbines under the city’s new ordinance that regulates the placement of the alternative-energy machines.
The ordinance allows small turbines — with a conditional-use permit — to be set up in any zoning class, after review by the City Planning Commission and approval by the city’s Board of Adjustment.
The planning commission approved the request last week without discussion.
Iowa ranks second nationally in wind power production. Over 25,000 wind turbines at 80 sites in Iowa generate near 20 percent of the state’s electricity.
The wind industry reaches more than 80 local business and provides 2,300 manufacturing jobs, according to an Environmental Law and Policy Center report.
