GUEST COLUMN: The "Big Beautiful Bill" Will Clobber Clean Energy Projects in Iowa

Local voices matter. Help us amplify them by contributing to your local newsroom. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed its version of President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" and sent it over to the U.S. Senate. This huge omnibus legislation covers a wide range of controversial topics and includes provisions that will eviscerate various clean energy incentives extended through 2032 and approved via passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Senate Finance Committee recently released its markup of sections of the bill under its purview for consideration by the Senate. Like the House, the Senate version of the bill eliminates the federal tax credit for solar at the end of 2025. While the Senate's version keeps the tax credits for geothermal, hydro, nuclear, and energy storage through at least 2032, it offers only a slight improvement on the House's evisceration of wind and solar credits for the commercial and industrial sectors. The Senate proposal establishes the following phase-out schedule for commercial and utility-scale projects to qualify for the wind or solar production or investment tax credit: Construction begins in 2025, receive 100% Construction begins in 2026, receive 60% Construction begins in 2027, receive 20% Construction begins in/after 2028, receive 0% In addition, no credit is allowed for a facility that commences construction after December 31, 2025 that includes certain levels of material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity like China. While energy storage projects can still access the investment tax credit through 2033, they are subject to the prohibition against material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity. Since China currently manufactures the majority of the batteries used in utility-scale storage projects, this provision will likely eliminate the viability of most battery storage projects. Many think tanks and industry groups are trying to help members of Congress as well as the general public understand how the proposed changes will harm the economies of states where clean energy manufacturing and utility-scale clean energy installations have either already begun or are slated to begin soon. One of these organizations, Clean Energy Tracker, recently released a four-page fact sheet on "How the Reconciliation Bill Would Impact Iowa's Energy Future." The report is full of excellent information that merits close reading and consideration. That said, the report does not accurately reflect the amount of utility-scale clean energy projects that are planned through 2032 by Iowa's investor-owned utilities. The Clean Energy Tracker report says "Iowa has 13.9 GW of clean electricity deployed, 0.01 GW under construction, and another 0.27 GW planned." Those numbers appear to be based on U.S. Energy Information Agency reports, which do not provide an accurate, up-to-date picture of Iowa utility plans. Recently, Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy released Resource Evaluation Studies that revealed their preferred planned investments in clean and fossil-based electricity generation.. The following table consolidates this information and focuses on Alliant and MidAmerican's planned clean energy investments from 2024 through 2032. Total Iowa IOU Clean Energy Planned Capacity Additions (GW): 2024-2032 Year Utility Status*(RPU/RES) Wind Solar Battery Storage (4-Hr) Total Planned Clean Energy Capacity (GW) 2024 MidAm RPU 0.05 0.05 2025 MidAm RES 0.30 0.30 2025 Alliant RES 0.10 0.10 2026 MidAm RES 0.30 0.30 2026 Alliant RES 0.10 0.30 0.30 2027 Alliant RES 0.25 0.10 0.45 2028 Alliant RES 0.25 0.25 2029 Alliant RES 0.25 0.25 2030 Alliant RES 0.25 0.25 2031 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 2032 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 TOTALS 1.00 0.75 0.50 2.25 *RPU = Approved by Iowa Utilities Commission--RPU Docket *RES = Proposed via Resource Evaluation Study This table reveals that Iowa's investor-owned utilities (MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy) plan to install an additional 2.25 GW of clean energy capacity–1 GW of wind, 0.75 GW of solar, and 0.5 GW of battery storage through 2032. This is almost ten times more than the planned capacity additions stated in the Clean Energy Tracker report and would represent an almost 17% increase in existing clean energy capacity in Iowa by 2030. In addition, the Clean Energy Tracker information does not include other utility-scale projects that may be planned by consumer-owned utilities or independent project developers eager to meet the power demands of the booming data center sector in Iowa. Suffice it to say, as proposed, passage of the Trump administration's "Big, Beautiful Bill" is going to clobber future utility-scale clean energy projects in Iowa, increase business and household energy costs, and have a deleterious impact on Iowa's economy. Knowledge is power! Stay empowered by subscribing to the free newsletter, packed with valuable insights, stories of local newsmakers and ideas to get your weekend started.