September 20 | Waylon Brown, Des Moines Register In rural Iowa, land is never just land. It is where your grandfather taught your father to straighten a fence post. It is where you learned to drive a tractor before you were old enough to drive a car. It is the field you check after aContinueContinue reading “Iowa needs power and farmers need more certainty to build it”
Category Archives: Iowa
Letter: Powering Iowa’s future with clean energy
NWest Iowa | Shane Bellefy, July 20 Growing up in northwest Iowa, I’ve seen firsthand how our strong agricultural heritage makes our state perfectly suited for clean energy. For decades, Iowa farmers have shown that clean energy and agriculture can work hand in hand. Wind turbines provide steady lease income, which can help keep familyContinueContinue reading “Letter: Powering Iowa’s future with clean energy”
Harvesting the wind empowers rural Iowa
The Gazette | Paul Lovell, June 13 June 15 marks Global Wind Day, an annual celebration of wind energy’s role in strengthening energy systems and local economies. Iowa proudly ranks second for wind energy generation nationwide, with wind turbines providing 64 percent of our electrical output. Wind has become a vital engine for local economicContinueContinue reading “Harvesting the wind empowers rural Iowa”
Renewable energy keeps Iowa’s communities vibrant
The Gazette | Steve Dodson, February 5 Renewable energy is a practical, sustainable, and financially sound solution for communities like Hiawatha. Securing strong, stable funding can be a struggle for public schools, which typically rely heavily on property owners and local families to support the education of our youth. By introducing an all-of-the-above energy strategy, projects like the Duane Arnold Energy Center andContinueContinue reading “Renewable energy keeps Iowa’s communities vibrant”
Wind turbines, lower tax bills: The data behind Iowa’s clean energy dividend
Corridor Business Journal | May 18 As Iowa lawmakers rapidly approach the end of the 2026 legislative session, conversations around renewable energy remain abundant. As these discussions continue, the Common Sense Institute (CSI)’s latest energy report reveals that Iowa’s diverse energy grid continues to keep the state competitive and sustainable. Due in part to Iowa’sContinueContinue reading “Wind turbines, lower tax bills: The data behind Iowa’s clean energy dividend”
Renewable energy diversifies farm income
The Gazette | Joe Heinrich, April 10 In a world of new technologies and innovation, our nation is requiring more energy than ever before. This surge in demand is projected to grow by 30-50% between now and 2040, making every watt of electricity on the grid valuable and necessary. An all-hands-on-deck approach to solving this issue cannot be done without implementing clean energy resources alongside traditional ones. ForContinueContinue reading “Renewable energy diversifies farm income “
What I learned living with wind energy
The Gazette | April 2 The best way to learn is from experience, or from someone who has had experience. Here are some things I learned about renewable energy from hosting a wind project on my land. The easement payment for having a wind turbine, transmission lines and an access road on my land wasContinueContinue reading “What I learned living with wind energy”
Iowa considers standardizing renewable energy standards
Public News Service | April 9, Mark Moran Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would standardize renewable-energy infrastructure installations. Driven largely by landowner pushback, a third of Iowa’s counties currently have regulations that prohibit new wind and solar projects, despite proven economic benefits. Iowa County landowner Sherrie O’Brien was an early adopter of wind energy moreContinueContinue reading “Iowa considers standardizing renewable energy standards”
Iowa clean energy is a veterans’ success story
The Gazette | Troy Van Beek, March 1 After serving as a U.S. Navy SEAL, I joined one of the most veteran-friendly sectors in the nation: clean energy. I started Ideal Energy — a solar energy and storage company in Southeast Iowa. With over 20,000 veterans like me employed nationally in the solar industry alone, clean energyContinueContinue reading “Iowa clean energy is a veterans’ success story”
For reliable energy we have to start building
The Gazette | Nick Boeyink, January 20 America became a strong and prosperous nation because it built things. We built farms, factories, power plants, transmission lines, and the infrastructure allowing communities to grow and families to thrive. Iowa has been a major part of that story. Today, however, our permitting system has made it farContinueContinue reading “For reliable energy we have to start building”