Moratoriums discussed

Jay County Plan Commission recommended enacting a one-year moratorium on wind farms Thursday.

The commission also recommended not to enact a moratorium on geological carbon sequestration projects — specifically those dealing with injecting carbon dioxide into the ground — at the same meeting.

The final decision on both issues will be up to Jay County Commissioners.

Renewable energy company RWE Clean Energy, a subsidiary of electricity company RWE Group, is planning to construct a 200-megawatt wind farm in Jay County. Hopes are for the wind farm to be operational in 2031.

Representatives of the company spoke at Thursday’s public hearing regarding a potential moratorium on wind farms. Jason Winik, lead development manager for the proposed project in Jay County, explained the facility would bring in an estimated $75 million in tax revenue to the county over its roughly 35-year life cycle.

Winik noted the company, along with former Jay County resident and land agent John Myron, started reaching out to some landowners and commissioners last year. He pointed out the project is in its early stages. 

“We want to talk to neighbors, decision makers, large landowners, small landowners, you know, just normal residents, supporters of the opposition, the loudest voices, we want to sit down and have a conversation with them,” he said. “Ultimately we’re here to work with you, whether it’s to revise an ordinance, to talk about the existing one, we just ask to be part of that conversation.”

Rural Portland resident Ed Nixon spoke against a moratorium, saying he believes the current ordinance is adequate.

Plan commission president Scott Hilfiker reiterated the moratorium won’t put an end to wind farms in Jay County forever.

“I don’t think anybody here is against the wind (ordinance), what we have, we just need to tweak it a little bit,” he said.

Jay/Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn said he’s heard concerns about future wind projects in Jay County and the current wind farm ordinance. He suggested a moratorium to give officials a time to take a step back and review the ordinance, potentially taking a closer look at setback limits for wind turbines. 

County attorney Wes Schemenaur noted he would also like to review the template for decommissioning agreements.

Plan commission member and Jay County Council president Matt Minnich questioned how long it may take to adjust the ordinance, with Schemenaur hesitating to commit to a time frame but estimating it could be done in six months.

Answering a question from Minnich, Winik estimated it will take another couple years until the company files for a permit.

There are currently two wind farms in Jay County — Bitter Ridge Wind Farm and Bluff Point Wind Energy Center — that will not be impacted by a moratorium.

Minnich questioned if there were other prospective wind farms coming to Jay County, with Hemmelgarn saying RWE Clean Energy’s project is the only one he knows of at this time.

The plan commission then agreed to recommend Jay County Commissioners enact a one-year moratorium on wind farms in Jay County, with Minnich dissenting.

Also Thursday, the plan commission recommended commissioners not enact a one-year moratorium on geological carbon sequestration projects in Jay County.

Hemmelgarn noted the moratorium discussed Thursday would impact carbon sequestration projects specifically dealing with injecting carbon dioxide into the ground.

There are currently two carbon sequestration projects in the works in Jay County. They include a proposed biochar manufacturing facility — it involves converting egg layer and pullet manure into soil amendment products — from Minnich Eggs and a Class 6 well project from ethanol facility POET Bioprocessing. The latter process would involve drilling nearly 4,000 feet below the surface and injecting carbon dioxide — it’s a byproduct from creating ethanol — into the well over the next several years.

Adam Homan, general manager of POET Bioprocessing, said the project is a $50 million investment. 

“This project for us, this (carbon capture and sequestration) project, is just another way to create value out of that corn kernel,” he said.

The business is currently capturing and selling about 25% its carbon dioxide. With carbon sequestration, he explained, POET Bioprocessing could tap into new markets, such as aviation and marine fuel.

He said the company’s future could be at stake if it didn’t pursue the project and asked for the county not to enact a moratorium on carbon sequestration.

Mark Henning, a petroleum geologist with DTE Vantage, noted testing his company has completed on POET Bioprocessing’s property and in the surrounding area to ensure the land is suitable for the project, saying Jay County’s geology allows for safely conducting carbon sequestration. He also pointed to Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Natural Resources regulations and asked plan commission not to recommend enacting a moratorium.

A few neighboring landowners also voiced support for the project, saying they wouldn’t have signed on if they felt it were unsafe.

Hemmelgarn asked Homan and Henning a series of questions, including about the project’s size — the carbon dioxide “plume” is forecasted to span 2,500 acres.

He pointed to salt water currently sitting in space deep underground, questioning if it could be pushed up into the county’s water table through a crack. Henning noted a 2D seismic survey showed no faults or fractures in the earth, with Hemmelgarn interjecting that there is always a possibility one could appear. Henning said in the unlikely situation the county’s water were tainted, per EPA’s rules, wells would be drilled for extraction and those affected would receive new water sources.

Minnich and plan commission member Jeanne Houchins suggested the county follow federal and state guidelines already in place.

“I don’t think we can do better than what the EPA is going to do,” said Houchins.

Several plan commission members spoke in opposition of a moratorium, with some pointing out they had met with POET Bioprocessing recently to learn more about carbon sequestration and the project as a whole.

Houchins recommended POET Bioprocessing host an educational meeting to inform the public about its project, with Homan saying there has been discussion about the educational aspect.

Then plan commission then recommended, with Steve Ford dissenting, that commissioners not enact a moratorium on carbon sequestration.