Looking at the power grid of the future will be the point of discussion for Iowa Business for Clean Energy, who will be having a summit in Des Moines this February.
Bob Rafferty of Iowa Business for Clean Energy said the creation of the committee was spurred when the possibility of adding supercharging stations at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott met snags.
The need for more supercharging stations across not only Iowa but also other states is one of the points that the group was noting was going to need to happen as more vehicles move from internal combustion engines to electrical engines.
One of the hurdles for Iowa at the moment is the electrical grid’s current reliance on coal-powered electricity plants as opposed to wind and solar generations, Rafferty noted.
In the span of 10 years, Iowa’s electrical costs have gone from being 10 percent lower than those in Illinois in 2010, to now more than 14.4 percent higher than the same costs in Illinois.
The rates for electricity across the state can vary as much as 50 percent, depending on the communities that people get their electricity from.
With more and better electric car batteries coming down in price, however, Rafferty expects more electric cars will be on the roadway.
Which produces issues if Iowa’s electrical costs are significantly higher than people might be seeing in other states as they’re driving around. It’s an issue Rafferty noted will need to be better addressed.
“What if you see significantly higher costs in Mount Vernon for electricity than you would in communities like Iowa City or Cedar Rapids?” Rafferty said. “Would drivers want to charge up here or go to those locations instead?”
Iowa has a lot of solar and wind power, but the issue locally is not having enough storage capacity in communities to store that power generated in off-peak hours, which could be done with having more batteries built across the Midwest.
“If we can take power that’s generated overnight at our wind farms to be available during peak hours for us, that would allow us to have more clean energy in our grid usage,” Rafferty said.
The Iowa Business for Clean Energy will be holding a summit in Des Moines in February 2022 to discuss this and other issues.
Rafferty encouraged Iowans to voice their views to their legislators on this issue as well, as it’s going to be one that not only Iowa will be dealing with in the next five years.
Iowa Business for Clean Energy discusses changing electrical grids in future
December 2, 2021
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.