Encourage local electricity generation

By Gregg Heide

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The recent natural disaster in Japan has resulted in several large centralized power plants going offline, leaving millions without electricity and begging the question regarding the safety of nuclear facilities.

A February winter storm in Texas caused 50 large plants to cease electricity production, placing its electrical grid in a precarious situation, resulting in rolling blackouts.

Besides the tragic loss of life and property, events like these expose the risks of relying on large central-power stations and high-voltage transmission lines to deliver electricity to customers hundreds of miles away. The more centralized we make our electrical grid, the more likely we will expose ourselves to natural disasters and terrorism.

Centralized power is not our only option when it comes to a reliable energy policy. It's time to implement a plan to place electricity generation in locations close to the people who use the power. While no official studies have been done in Iowa, a Minnesota study determined that state could nearly double its installed generation capacity using existing distribution lines and constructing locally produced distributed energy.

Unfortunately, the Iowa Legislature is going in the opposite direction. A request by MidAmerican Energy to build a nuclear power plant in Iowa is being fast-tracked through the legislature. SF 390 and HF. 561 are bills structured to give MidAmerican exactly what it needs to build this facility, including preferential rates and the ability to bill customers before breaking ground on the facility. Furthermore, MidAmerican and other utilities have used the legislative process to build massive centralized wind farms needing high-voltage transmission lines, while effectively shutting out competition from farmers and small business.

This preferential treatment and regulated monopoly is exactly what is hindering the ability of farmers and small businesses from installing their own solar and wind installations. In an attempt to work with the utility giants, the Iowa Farmers Union negotiated a deal in 2006, where MidAmerican would purchase a small amount of its wind energy needs from Iowa farmers. This agreement occurred while MidAmerican was petitioning the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to expand its wind generation assets. Once the IUB approved the expansion, MidAmerican forgot their promise to the state's farmers.

Farmers are asking for a fair shake here, for a just price for the energy we produce. The same price the investor-owned utilities pay themselves for renewable energy. Without a fair price, no bank will finance a wind turbine or solar panel, and the incentives offered from the government do little to actually increase our renewable production.

Distributed renewable technologies can also help provide Iowa's base-load electricity needs, at a competitive cost compared to centralized power stations. As we look to further our energy policy in Iowa and strive to be the leader in renewable energy, we ought to look at placing the power generation where the need is, using existing distribution lines. This can be done through farmer- and business-owned renewable energy spread out over the entire state.

Not only will our energy be reliable, but this will create local jobs, protect our need for electricity through multiple generation facilities, and use a clean, safe and long-lasting form of energy production.

The wind and sun are Iowa's new cash crops. It's high time our government sends the strong message that Iowa is open and friendly to small business and farmers building distributed generation and is the only way to grow our renewable power generation without massive high-voltage lines. Without it, Iowa will slip in renewable energy production and innovation, losing high-paying installation and manufacturing jobs to other states.

Gregg Heide of Pomeroy is Vice President of the Iowa Farmers Union. Comments; gheide@evertek.net