On April 2, 2024 the Winneshiek Energy District welcomed Kristin Eggen as the second executive director of the Winneshiek Energy District. Eggen first came to the Winneshiek Energy District as a Green Iowa AmeriCorps volunteer in 2015. A native of Appleton, Wisconsin, Kristin studied nonprofit management at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. After graduating she promptly moved to the driftless to be near the bluffs, rivers, and extended family.
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
Publicly available electric vehicle charging has greatly improved in Winneshiek County and northeast Iowa. Within Decorah city limits, there are now sixteen level 2 chargers available for public use and two direct current fast chargers at Decorah Chevrolet. County- and region-wide, the situation has improved, too, with public chargers available in Calmar, Cresco, West Union, Lansing, and others. Level 2 chargers can recharge an EV in 3-8 hours depending on
Jim Martin-Schramm Last fall, Alliant Energy sent a notice to customers about its application to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to increase rates. For many, Alliant’s notice might have been missed or swept into the recycling bin without much thought. Not at Luther College. Luther’s Director of Facilities Services immediately set about figuring out how Alliant’s rate increase would impact the college. He was stunned. Luther College is facing a
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
By Jim Martin-Schramm, Policy Analyst, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa On October 12, 2023, the Department of Energy announced that the City of Decorah, in partnership with the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa, has been awarded $1.1 million in funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program. The EECBG Program is designed to assist states, local governments, and Tribes in implementing strategies to reduce energy use,
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
According to Autolist.com’s 2023 Electric Vehicle Survey, new car buyers’ top concerns with EVs include sky-high prices, range limitations, and a lack of public charging. As their data suggests, year-over-year progress has been made on all three of these fronts, with consumers increasingly warming to the idea of EV purchases. Nevertheless, significant obstacles remain. The average MSRP of an EV has narrowed relative to that of gas powered models, albeit
By Andy Johnson, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa Executive Director Heads up electric vehicle (EV) charge station owners: All non-residential EV charging that happens in the state of Iowa will be subject to a new 2.6 cents per kilowatt/hour fuel excise tax beginning July 1. To read the complete story, please visit Clean Energy Districts of Iowa’s website.