Rural Iowans could face rising energy costs as winter sets in. A report from Public News Service says that utility companies continue to look for alternatives to coal for home heating, research shows there are market factors that could increase rates for natural gas customers. Natural gas accounts for about 30-percent of Iowa’s energy consumption. As utilities move away from coal and construct more natural gas plants, Andrew Johnson with Clean Energy Districts of Iowa says the shift could lead to higher prices.
Johnson says utilities are also considering renewable energy sources like wind and solar to meet the state’s electricity needs. Iowa already leads the nation in the percentage of power created by wind, which he says is especially helpful in rural areas, where there’s more land available for wind farm construction. Despite Iowa’s abundance of wind power, the state’s natural gas prices are still tenth highest in the nation. Johnson says even though utility companies are building more plants, gas distribution infrastructure is limited.
Johnson says the demand, price hikes and limited infrastructure threaten to not only drive up energy prices, but also stifle economic growth across Iowa and the country.
Full story from Public News Service available here: https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/diversifying-away-from-coal-and-natural-gas-in-rural-iowa/b4047037-c234-46bb-b185-1ad1848f2b38?dl=1&uid=f1a9ed5e-cdad-4dbf-bf5b-c75c2340a175
