Iowa's solar compromise serves as national model

CODY SMITH

Policy Associate, Center for Rural Affairs

After a lengthy fight during the 2019 Iowa legislative session, a unique coalition of agriculture and environmental groups joined forces with MidAmerican Energy, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, to negotiate a consensus agreement to expand solar energy in Iowa.

A year later, the product of these conversations was signed into law—creating a gold standard for solar energy across the nation.

This agreement—Senate File 583—protects investments in solar energy from farmers, small businesses and others by writing net metering into stat...