POLICY: Clock ticking for Community solar bill in Iowa
Community Solar legislation is being drafted in Iowa but is facing some delays that could prevent the bill from being filed this session, said Sarah Moon, Co-Founder and Principal of Fieldworks Power, in an interview with NPM.
Moon, one of the lead stakeholders working on the bill, said the bill has yet to be filed due to a backlog with the legislative service agency. While time is getting thin, there's still chance the bill will be filed and move forward but would need to be "fast and furious."
The Republican-backed bill will be sponsored by Senator Waylon Brown, R-30. A companion bill is expected to be sponsored by a Republican in the House, but Moon was unable to make the name public at the moment.
Calls and emails to Brown were not returned in time for this story.
Some of what is motivating conservative legislators to push the bill forward include benefits it provides to farmers, economic opportunities, and competition for energy development in the state, according to Moon.
“Similar to some of these early markets like Wisconsin, the bill presents a legal framework to make community solar work but does not necessarily go into a humongous amount of detail,” Moon said. “It’s really sort of an outline bill, that if it passed, it would do everything needed to set up a functional community solar program.”
According to Moon, the proposal will not have a program cap and will limit project sizes to 5 MW. While no program administrator is outlined in the bill, it's being proposed that rules are set by the Iowa Utilities Board. A minimum small subscriber requirement is being proposed but no LMI component at the moment.
Moon said she expects the bill to be "tightened up" throughout the session as it leaves room for adjustments.
The 2024 Iowa legislative session runs from January 8th, through April 16. Iowa has a Republican trifecta with a Republican Governor and Republican majority in the Senate and House, according to Ballotpedia.
“It’s still early but we’re hopeful that the legislation gains momentum despite the bureaucratic hiccups that we’re encountering,” Moon said. “This will be the first time Iowa will really consider community solar legislation in a serious way. We’ll see what happens.”
*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.
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