Letter to the Editor: Support the Solar Energy Tax Credit

To the Editor:

I encourage all our neighbors in northeast Iowa to support the Solar Energy Tax Credit bill currently going through the Iowa Legislature (HF 221).

After years of researching renewable energy and trying small projects on our farm and in our home, we decided to grow our effort to “farm” the sun by adding a solar energy project. The Solar Energy Tax Credit at the time made the price tag look a little more manageable.

This tax credit, however, needs to be expanded now so farmers and others will be encouraged to add solar without having to be on a years-long waiting list to get the credit. The current law was tied to an expiring federal credit and the amount allocated for each year did not meet the demand. HF 221 fixes these issues.

Solar Energy and other forms of renewable energy and energy efficiency are very important to the economy of our homes, farms and local businesses. They are also important to shifts that have to be made in managing the changes in our climate.

Many farmers across Iowa are using or contemplating the use of solar panels to meet large energy needs for things like drying grain, running pumps or augers, cooling produce, and for lowering their energy costs and the cost to our long term climate.

We look forward to reading our energy bill each month and soon we will have paid off the loan we took out to put it up. That will be really exciting! We just want many other people to have the same experience. The Solar Energy Tax Credit is one important assist to make this big step.

Sincerely,
Mary Klauke Abbas
Dorchester