Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks toured the Farmers Electric Cooperative solar garden, farm and other solar installations affiliated with the energy company on Monday, June 7. Famers Electric is the oldest rural electric cooperative in Iowa, but it is also recognized as a solar energy leader — more than 20% of the cooperative’s kilowatt-hours per year are generated from solar locally. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the cooperative typically generates 100% of its energy locally.

First, Miller-Meeks was shown the community solar garden, on the site of Farmers Electric’s office on 1959 Yoder Ave. The garden, started in 2011 and expanded as demand grew, contains 368 panels that are owned by 136 individuals or groups.

“We had a program where members of Farmers Electric could buy individual solar panels, up to 10, and then we installed everything,” said manager Tim Heisdorffer. “Then, on their billing, they get reimbursed for the output of those panels every month, which averages about $3-4 per month per panel, or about a 10% return.”

Heisdorffer said that about 20% of Farmers Electric members own solar.

Miller-Meeks said the solar garden was “a very innovative approach.”

“This is the first REC or electric corporation I’ve been to that has been a member share,” she said.

Next, Miller-Meeks was shown the solar farm, located about a mile away from Farmers Electric’s offices. The nine-acre farm was built in two installments, the first by Eagle Point Solar in 2014 and the second half was built by Simpleray in 2016.

Simpleray sales territory manager Josh Clark explained to Miller-Meeks that financing non-profit solar projects can be a challenge, as the non-profits aren’t eligible for tax credits available to other businesses.

“It’s probably the most challenging portion of making these non-profit solar energy projects work, the financing side of finding that good tax equity partner or tax equity buyer offloaded,” Clark said. “I think that making that tax equity portion and financing portion of projects easier for nonprofits will really grow the industry.”

The next stop was Hillcrest Academy, where retired teacher Dick Yoder-Short spearheaded the construction of a 50,000-watt solar farm in 2013.

The solar panels don’t directly power the school, instead the energy goes back onto the grid and then the school is credited for energy it produces.

Yoder-Short said the field is “doing quite well” and “paying for itself, with a little extra left over.”

Yoder-Short, also a licensed electrician, said he wanted to create a solar field because it’s a good way to gather energy that is good for the environment.

“As an electrician, I think it’s an easy thing to do. There are no moving parts,” he said. “I’ve had to replace on panel — it looked like someone threw a discus on a panel — but that’s easy to do. And I don’t have to climb 100 feet into the air to replace a wind blade. It just works.”

Lastly, the tour visited Keith Troyer’s farm, where he owns solar equipment that helps power is farm.

Miller-Meeks said one of her biggest reservations about broadening the use of solar energy is taking up good farmland to install solar farms.

But Miller-Meeks said she is proud of the strides Iowa has made with renewable energy.

“When I say that 40% of our electricity in Iowa is from renewables, that shocks people,” Miller-Meeks said. “They’re not aware that we have that much renewable energy in Iowa, between solar, wind, biodiesel and ethanol.”