Good news for community wind in Iowa! The Iowa Legislature unanimously passed SF 2399 right at the end of this year's session. The legislation will extend the 1.5¢ production tax credit incentive for an additional 90 MW of community wind projects (projects under 20 MW - raised from 10 MW). The tax credit will thus now cover a total of 180 MW of renewable energy for Iowa. 80 of the 90 MW must be dedicated to wind projects, with the remaining 10 MW for “other” eligible facilities. The Iowa Utilities Board maintains a waiting list for potentially eligible projects and will notify a project of its eligibility within 30 days of filing a completed application. An eligible project has 18 months to become operational after notification of eligibility. However, an approved facility that is not operational in 18 months due to unavailability of necessary equipment is granted an additional 12 months to become operational.

Additionally, MidAmerican Energy Co., under an agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union, pledged to buy up to 40 MW of electricity from small, community wind projects. The agreement was part of the Iowa Utility Board's approval MidAmerican's request to build up to 545 MW of additional wind-powered electrical generation in Iowa.