Assistance to farms and small businesses to apply for 50% renewable energy and energy efficiency grants offered through Clean Energy Districts of Iowa Energy Coaching program Press release by Clean Energy Districts of Iowa Clean Energy Districts of Iowa (CEDI), a nonprofit consortium of Energy Districts based in 13 counties in Iowa, is offering free energy coaching to assist farms and small businesses in applying for USDA grant funding for
Starting in 2024 the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is ushering in a suite of tax credits and rebates for Americans looking to invest in clean energy. More rebate programs are anticipated to become available later in 2024. Click each thumbnail below for a full PDF. IRA Efficiency Fact Sheet IRA Efficiency Fact Sheet IRA EV Fact Sheet IRA Renewable Tax Credits Fact Sheet Other helpful links
Decorah’s Kim and Mary Glock recently upgraded their 50-gallon electric resistance water heater to an electric hybrid heat pump water heater, resulting in energy savings of about $650 annually. Follow along as we outline their journey. The Glock’s new 50-gallon AO Smith hybrid heat pump water, installed for $3,400 before incentives. Water heating accounts for nearly 18% of energy use within the typical home, second only to space heating. The
Guest Story by Laura Peterson Earlier this month our energy utility came to shut off our natural gas connection. Usually, having your gas service cut off means either you’re moving to a new house or you’re way behind on your bills. But in our case, it’s because we’ve eliminated all gas appliances in our home. Over the last few years, we’ve undergone a transition to an all-electric household. Here is
Guest Story by Jim and Liz Fritz, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Decorah, Iowa Is it possible for a small Midwestern Lutheran congregation to go from eight natural gas furnaces to eight heat pumps and create all needed energy, via solar, needed to run them in only 4 years? It is possible, and it’s happening right now! The Background Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Decorah was founded in 1958 on land that
Browsing Rewiring America’s website, it’s easy to get excited about the potential benefits of home electrification. Heat pumps, induction stoves, ventless heat pump clothes dryers, breaker boxes, rooftop solar, EVs, etc. All relatively straightforward, and most–with Inflation Reduction Act incentives–cheap and easy. Right? In reality, not so fast. I was recently contacted by a Decorah couple to provide some recommendations for home electrification. The couple had the money and were
by Paul Cutting, Energy Planner On March 21st, WED hosted an Energy Lunch to discuss how the new direct pay option allows non taxable entities to take advantage of the 30% federal renewable energy refundable tax credit! Organizations like schools, nonprofits, churches and local governments are now able to capture the full value of the 30% federal tax credit, putting renewable energy projects like PV solar, geothermal, wind, EV vehicle
Paul Cutting, Energy Planner The first of many new IRA-related tax credits and incentives came into effect January 1, 2023, and include new and updated tax credits for solar, battery storage, heat pumps, electric vehicles and more. We’re also excited about two electrification and efficiency rebate programs, and anticipate they will come into effect sometime late this year or early 2024. Solar, Battery Backup, Wind and Geothermal Tax Credits Following
by Joel Zook, Energy Planner 2021 is going to be another exciting year for solar. It’s a big deal that federal tax credits have been extended, net-metering laws are in place for Iowa’s investor-owned utilities (Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy) that give long term peace of mind to solar owners, AND the state legislature is looking at renewing and extending the state solar tax credit. Meanwhile, installed prices continue their
By Joel Zook, Energy Planner These truly are unprecedented times. With the partial shutdown of our economy that is now slowly crawling back, it’s hard to know what the “new normal” will look like. We do know however, that there are good opportunities to invest in our local economy through energy efficiency and renewable energy. Those investments will help create a more robust and resilient economy. Money that we can