Part four in a multi-part series on Clean Energy Districts (CED) and policies to make CEDs “universal local” institutions. Read part one, part two, part three, and part five. 

Clean Energy Districts are organized by county as nonprofits. They are the “last-mile” implementers of the clean energy transition. In this conversation, Jim Osterhaus, Chair of Clayton County Energy District, and Andy Johnson, Executive Director of the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa, discuss the evolution, opportunities, and impact of the Clean Energy District movement in Iowa and the Upper Midwest.

Osterhaus:
In the 1970s, I spent several years outside of the U.S. During this time, we and much of the world faced oil embargos and oil crises. One had to ask: Why do we continue to burn oil from the Middle East, necessitating going to war and sponsoring proxy wars when we already have the technology and know-how to produce our own energy from a nearly unlimited source - the sun. But setting up and producing that energy was neither simple nor cheap.

Johnson:
Right, but even in the 70s – as I was growing up on a dairy farm in rural northeast Iowa – the can-do spirit of rural folk was evident in the solar and wind combination installed by our neighbor. That example planted seeds in my thinking about conservation and self-reliance that have carried through my career in natural resources, sustainable agriculture, and community development. I was inspired by my neighbor’s example, and never stopped pondering ... but how can this happen everywhere, and benefit everyone?

Osterhaus:
Fast forward to the 1990s. I regularly went to the Midwest Renewable Fair in Wisconsin and learned more about solar. It seemed that solar installers and panels were still not close at hand or cheap. Renewable energy was perceived as a novelty … but the price was coming down. Finally, in 2010, in conjunction with a home remodeling project, it became feasible for me  to invest in a roof-mounted solar array and, a year later, a geothermal HVAC system. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) was a huge boost and made both projects financially feasible. As an early adopter, finding a solar contractor was mostly word of mouth.

Johnson: 

In 2010, I was involved in starting the Winneshiek Energy District, with a team of clean energy champions just like you. Our earliest work focused on providing quality, holistic energy planning to homes and businesses, but we quickly included solar in the planning process for farms, residences, and businesses in our customer base. We also embarked on a years-long solar market transformation effort, partnering with the community college on contractor training, with the banks on finance, holding repeated solar fairs and tours ... and as the market began to accelerate, we continued to feed that flywheel of momentum.

Osterhaus:
Then, in 2015, I was put in contact with you and the core group promoting the renewable energy movement. What really drew me to the movement was the grassroots character of the organization. The Energy District [ED] is a library of both information and expertise. The ED movement disseminates this information in an unbiased, concise, and very personal way. The goal is to deliver the goods to the people of the county. Whether it’s energy efficiency audits, solar generation, networking with local installers, assistance on net metering with local jurisdictions, distributing LED bulbs or Lunch & Learn Seminars, our mission is on the ground floor, working with our friends and neighbors. That connection is the gist of the ED Movement. It’s bottom-up, not top-down.

Johnson:
The commitment you had made on a personal level was quickly leveraged tenfold through your leadership with the nascent Clayton County Energy District. Through all the activities you describe, and more, the District has successfully triggered the flywheel of momentum, and the solar market there is following a trajectory similar to what we’ve seen here in Winneshiek County. Though a rural county of just 20,000 people, we have hundreds of solar systems owned by farms, homes, and businesses, representing roughly 400 watts/person. Not only is this 10x higher than most of the Midwest, it represents an investment of nearly $20 million, and well over $30 million in energy production kept in local pocketbooks and balance sheets and recycled in the local economy.

Osterhaus:
This energy journey has come full circle for me from nebulous ideas of 40 years ago to the “Boots on the ground” reality of the present. This is a face-to-face, real-world, green-meets-green endeavor while doing something positive for the planet for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.To quote a Greek proverb: “A society grows great when people plant trees in whose shade they will never sit. These are our trees. And we even get a little shade along with it.”

Johnson:
Everyone has a story, and everyone has a community, and together, we are so much more than the sum of our parts. CEDs are an elegant and powerful “universal-local” model to bring champions together to provide clean energy leadership and to bring communities together around clean energy identity and ownership. When that happens, Mission 10x is not an aberration, it is the norm.