Amendment H-8225 to HF 2580
Relating to the siting and operation of renewable electric power generating facilities
Never voted on
Filed March 17, 2026 in the House by
What it changes
AI summary This amendment adds a rule that wind energy companies must sign legal agreements to protect and pay for damages to landowners within three miles of any wind turbine. These agreements must cover various issues like property damage, loss of agricultural productivity, and health concerns, and they must remain in effect until ten years after the equipment is removed. Additionally, the companies must maintain specific insurance coverage and record these agreements in county offices.1
Read the amendment’s wording
- Page 9, after line 24 by inserting: “
- a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any other provision of law to the contrary, on and after July 1, 2026, a person shall not commence or cause to be commenced the construction of a wind energy conversion facility or any wind turbine that is part of a wind energy conversion facility in this state unless the indemnification and hold harmless agreements required by this subsection have been fully executed, recorded, and delivered as provided herein. b. The following persons shall each be required to execute the indemnification and hold harmless agreement required by this subsection as joint and several obligors: (1) The promoter of the wind energy conversion facility, meaning any person who has solicited or obtained, or caused to be solicited or obtained, any easement, lease, option, or other property interest for the purpose of siting, constructing, or operating any wind turbine at the proposed site. (2) The developer of the wind energy conversion facility, meaning any person responsible for planning, financing, permitting, or managing the construction of the facility or any turbine therein. (3) The manufacturer of each wind turbine to be constructed at the proposed site, including any successor, assignee, or affiliate of such manufacturer. (4) The proposed owner of each wind turbine to be constructed at the proposed site and any person who will hold a direct or indirect ownership interest in such turbine upon completion of construction. (5) Each grantor of any easement, lease, license, or other property interest on which any wind turbine is proposed to be sited, meaning the owner or owners of the real property on which the turbine foundation, tower, or any associated infrastructure is to be physically located. c. The indemnification and hold harmless agreement shall be executed in favor of, and shall be enforceable by, each and every landowner of record of any parcel of real property, any part of which is located within a three-mile radius of the proposed location of any wind turbine to be constructed as part of the facility. For purposes of this subsection, the three-mile radius shall be measured from the center of the proposed turbine foundation to the nearest boundary of each such parcel. d. The indemnification and hold harmless agreement shall provide that the obligors identified in paragraph “b” shall, jointly and severally, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless each beneficiary identified in paragraph “c” from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, damages, losses, costs, expenses, liabilities, judgments, liens, and encumbrances, including but not limited to reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees, and all costs of investigation, litigation, arbitration, mediation, appeal, and collection, arising from, related to, or in any way connected with the construction, presence, operation, maintenance, repair, repowering, modification, or decommissioning of the wind turbine or any component, appurtenance, or infrastructure thereof at the proposed site, including but not limited to all of the following: (1) Personal injury, bodily injury, emotional distress, or death. (2) Damage to or destruction of real or personal property. (3) Contamination of soil, water, crops, forage, livestock, or any agricultural product by fiberglass particles, microplastics, bisphenol A, epoxy resin compounds, polyurethane compounds, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or any other substance or material originating from or associated with the wind turbine or its components. (4) Diminution in the fair market value or rental value of real property. (5) Loss of agricultural productivity, crop yield, crop quality, or crop marketability. (6) Loss of livestock health, productivity, or marketability. (7) Loss of organic certification, specialty crop certification, or any other agricultural certification or designation. (8) Interference with or damage to agricultural drainage tile, surface drainage infrastructure, irrigation systems, or soil structure, including soil compaction. (9) Interference with aerial application of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, or seed. (10) Interference with the use and enjoyment of real property, including noise, shadow flicker, light emission, visual impact, electromagnetic interference, interference with a global positioning system or precision agriculture system, or vibration. (11) Ice throw, blade throw, blade failure, tower collapse, fire, explosion, or any other structural or mechanical failure. (12) Damage to public or private roads, bridges, culverts, or other transportation infrastructure attributable to the construction, maintenance, or decommissioning of the facility. (13) Environmental contamination, remediation costs, or natural resource damage assessed or incurred under any federal, state, or local environmental law or regulation. (14) Any other loss, damage, cost, or casualty of any kind whatsoever that arises from or is related to the construction, presence, operation, maintenance, repair, repowering, modification, or decommissioning of the wind turbine or any component, appurtenance, or infrastructure thereof. e. The indemnification and hold harmless obligation created under this subsection shall commence upon the date of execution of the agreement and shall continue in full force and effect for as long as the wind turbine, or any part of its foundation, tower, nacelle, blades, underground infrastructure, or other physical construction, remains physically present at the site, and for a period of ten years following the date on which the last such physical component has been completely removed from the site and the site has been restored in accordance with any applicable decommissioning plan. For purposes of this paragraph, the severance or abandonment of underground infrastructure, including but not limited to foundations, cables, and conduits, at any depth shall not constitute removal, and the indemnification obligation shall continue until all such infrastructure has been physically extracted from the ground. f. The indemnification and hold harmless obligation created under this subsection shall run with the land on which the wind turbine is sited and shall be binding upon each obligor and upon each obligor’s successors, assigns, heirs, transferees, and any person or entity that acquires any ownership interest in the wind turbine, the facility, or the real property on which the turbine is sited, by any means whatsoever, including but not limited to sale, merger, acquisition, foreclosure, bankruptcy, receivership, tax sale, or operation of law. No transfer, assignment, conveyance, or change of ownership or control of the wind turbine, the facility, or the underlying real property shall release, diminish, or impair the indemnification obligation of any obligor. g. The indemnification and hold harmless agreement shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county in which any beneficiary’s property is located, at the expense of the obligors, no later than thirty days prior to the commencement of any construction activity at the site. The agreement shall include a legal description of each parcel of real property subject to the agreement, both as to the obligor grantors and as to the beneficiary landowners, and shall contain a map clearly depicting the three-mile radius from each proposed turbine location. A certified copy of the recorded agreement shall be delivered by the obligors to each beneficiary by certified mail, return receipt requested, no later than fifteen days following recording. h. The recorded indemnification and hold harmless agreement shall constitute constructive notice to all subsequent purchasers, mortgagees, lienholders, and other persons acquiring any interest in the real property on which the wind turbine is sited. The obligors shall ensure that any contract for the sale, transfer, or conveyance of the wind turbine, the facility, or the underlying real property contains a provision requiring the purchaser or transferee to assume all indemnification obligations under this subsection and to execute a supplemental indemnification agreement in favor of all then-current beneficiaries within thirty days of closing. i. The indemnification and hold harmless obligations under this subsection may not be waived, released, or modified by any beneficiary except by an instrument in writing, signed by the beneficiary, acknowledged before a notary public, and recorded in the office of the county recorder. No easement, lease, option, or other agreement between a landowner and any obligor shall be construed to waive or modify the indemnification obligations of this subsection unless the instrument of waiver expressly references this subsection by statutory citation and contains a conspicuous statement, in boldface type of not less than fourteen-point font, that the landowner is waiving the protections of this subsection. j. Each obligor shall maintain, at all times during which the indemnification obligation is in effect, a policy of general liability insurance or environmental liability insurance, or both, with limits of not less than ten million dollars per occurrence and twenty-five million dollars in the aggregate, sufficient to satisfy the indemnification obligations of this subsection. Proof of such insurance shall be filed with the county auditor annually. The policy shall name all beneficiaries as additional insureds and shall provide not less than sixty days’ written notice to the county auditor and all beneficiaries prior to cancellation, nonrenewal, or material modification. k. Any beneficiary may enforce the indemnification and hold harmless agreement by action in the district court of the county in which the beneficiary’s property is located. The prevailing party in any such action shall be entitled to recover all reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees, and costs of litigation. The obligors shall not assert as a defense the failure of a beneficiary to provide notice of a claim within any particular period, provided that the action is commenced within the applicable statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for any action under this subsection shall be ten years from the date the beneficiary knew or reasonably should have known of the loss, damage, or casualty giving rise to the claim, or ten years from the date of removal of the last physical component of the wind turbine from the site, whichever is later. l. The liability of the obligors under the indemnification and hold harmless agreement shall be joint and several. A beneficiary may pursue any one or more obligors for the full amount of any claim without being required to join, notify, or first proceed against any other obligor. Contribution among obligors shall be governed by chapter
- m. The indemnification and hold harmless obligations created by this subsection are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedy available to any beneficiary under any other provision of law, including but not limited to common law negligence, nuisance, trespass, strict liability, or any statutory cause of action. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit, impair, or preclude any claim or cause of action that a beneficiary may have against any obligor or any other person under any other provision of law. n. For purposes of this subsection: (1) “Construction” includes any grading, excavation, foundation work, road construction, crane assembly, tower erection, turbine installation, electrical interconnection, or other physical activity undertaken in preparation for or in furtherance of the installation of a wind turbine at the proposed site. (2) “Landowner of record” means any person or entity holding legal or equitable title to real property as reflected in the records of the county recorder’s office, including but not limited to individuals, trusts, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and governmental entities. (3) “Loss” or “casualty” includes any injury, damage, harm, cost, expense, liability, or deprivation of any kind, whether economic or noneconomic, direct or consequential, past, present, or future, and whether or not foreseeable at the time of execution of the indemnification agreement. o. If any provision of this subsection or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this subsection that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this subsection are severable. p. This subsection shall apply to all wind energy conversion facilities and wind turbines for which construction commences on or after July 1, 2026, regardless of when any permit, approval, easement, lease, or other authorization for the facility or turbine was granted or executed.”
- By renumbering, redesignating, and correcting internal references as necessary.