March 28, 2024

Q&A: Clean energy

Q: How does clean energy help Iowa’s economy?

A: Renewable energy helps diversify Iowa's economy and adds value to our state's rich, natural resources. One recent study counted more than 30,000 Iowans employed in clean energy. That's a lot of paychecks that are providing for families and boosting economic vitality on Main Streets across the state.

The lion’s share of clean energy jobs employs workers in construction and manufacturing. Consider one sector of Iowa’s clean energy economy. Iowa has 11 factories open for business to supply the growing demand for clean energy generated by wind power. A wind turbine technician is the state’s fastest-growing job.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these skilled workers earn a median hourly wage of $30.64. Iowa’s network of community colleges is providing a career pipeline for job-seekers, from the classroom to the wind energy workforce within one to two years. The U.S. wind energy industry currently employs 105,000 workers across the country with 8,000 wind-related jobs in Iowa. Our top notch training programs prepare graduates to land a job with a company of their choosing. A full-time employee earns the annual equivalent of $63,731. In addition, wind companies make lease payments to landowners, providing another cash crop for farmers, adding up to $20-$25 million each year. And wind energy broadens the tax base, pumping additional revenue to cities and counties to help fund essential public services, such as road maintenance, schools, libraries, law enforcement and first-responders.

The wind farms that dot Iowa’s landscape in the 21st century reflect how innovation and enterprise continue to define the pioneering spirit of America. The average height of modern day “windmills” (turbine towers) reach 270 feet above ground. One turbine produces enough capacity to power approximately 750 homes. The sky’s the limit in Iowa to continue growing wind farms and harnessing this natural resource to create jobs and provide affordable, sustainable, clean energy for generations to come.

Q: Is the United States getting closer to achieving energy independence?

A: As the father of the wind energy tax credit and champion for renewable fuels, I've worked to advance America's energy independence for many years. Energy independence affects U.S. national security and influences strategic geopolitical decisions involving diplomacy, defense and foreign policy. With the world's largest economy, the United States depends on reliable, affordable sources of energy to stay competitive. Fostering homegrown renewable energy sources strengthens U.S. energy independence, diversifies our domestic energy portfolio, creates jobs in Rural America and improves what I call an "all-the-above" energy policy.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States is on track to export more energy products than it imports by 2022. That hasn’t happened since 1953. Advanced technologies and innovation are growing the U.S. energy boom in natural gas and oil production, paving the way for the United States to become the world’s leading exporter of liquid natural gas within a few years.

What’s more, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that renewable energy, such as wind and solar farms, will lead new U.S. power generation alongside natural gas. Already Iowa leads the nation for its share of energy produced by wind, reaching nearly 37 percent in 2017. The state’s largest utility is set to generate 90 percent of its electricity from wind within a few years.

The federal tax credit I wrote in 1992 helped diversify the energy landscape, allowing the wind industry to grow, innovate and flourish so that the tax credit is now able to be phased out. I’ll continue working to champion alternative sources of energy at every opportunity, including homegrown, clean-burning biofuels that are more important than ever to Iowa’s farm economy.