Clear power transition: The Republican state that advantages probably the most from wind power

[ad_1] When you drive throughout Iowa, you’ll most likely discover two issues apart from the numerous farms: Trump indicators and wind generators.

Iowa is Trump nation. Whereas the state was as soon as thought of politically purple, it decisively supported President Donald Trump in 2016, in 2020, and in 2024, when Trump gained in 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Iowa’s governor and two senators are additionally Republicans, and, after some early friction, have fallen according to Trump.

Iowa can also be a wind power powerhouse. A outstanding 59 p.c of the state’s power in 2023 got here from wind turbines , a bigger share than any other state in the country . Texas is the one state that produces extra wind power than Iowa, although wind energy makes up a a lot smaller portion of the Lone Star State’s power combine. Wind generators at the moment are so widespread in Iowa that they seem on the state’s common license plates.

At face worth, wind power and Trump don’t combine. Lots of his supporters downplay or disregard climate science exhibiting that fossil fuels are warming the planet far quicker than it might naturally — a key reality underlying the worth of wind power and different energy sources that don’t have vital carbon emissions. In some circumstances, Trump supporters, together with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., additionally assist elevate unproven claims that offshore wind generators are killing whales.

<img alt="Trump Vance sign in an empty field." data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_01.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

Trump himself, in the meantime, is probably the most anti-wind-energy president in historical past. He’s been bad-mouthing wind energy for over a decade, usually counting on equally spurious claims. “We’re not going to do the wind factor,” Trump stated in a speech on Inauguration Day . “Huge, ugly wind mills. They smash your neighborhood.” And Trump has already made policy moves intended to slow growth within the sector — inflicting some builders to halt or totally abandon projects .

On one hand, Iowa is a take a look at case for the endurance of renewable power. Wind farms have expanded within the state not due to local weather issues however due to economics. Wind power is affordable in Iowa.

However Iowa additionally highlights an vital disconnect that exists throughout the nation — between the anti-climate, “drill, child, drill” rhetoric that helped get Trump elected and the truth dealing with a lot of his base residing in states that profit from renewable power. The economics of wind power are extremely sturdy, specialists advised me, so the business gained’t simply disappear. However Trump’s power insurance policies, if profitable, may have dangerous penalties for Republican strongholds like Iowa. A query now's if conservatives who depend on wind power push again, will Trump soften his anti-wind stance?

How wind took over Iowa, a Republican stronghold

If you wish to study wind power in Iowa, the individual to speak to is Tom Wind. (Sure, his title is actually Tom Wind, and sure, individuals level it out so much to him.) He’s a crop farmer and electrical engineer in Iowa who’s been working within the sector — first at a utility, then as a guide, and now as a wind-farm supervisor — for many years.

There are a number of causes for Iowa’s ascendency to wind dominance, Wind advised me. The only motive is that Iowa is windy . And whereas some Nice Plains states like Nebraska and Kansas are technically windier, Iowa is nearer to large inhabitants facilities, like Chicago, that want a number of energy.

<img alt="Wind turbines in Iowa." data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

Iowa was additionally fast to undertake insurance policies that benefited wind and different renewables. In actual fact, Iowa was the primary state within the nation to ascertain what’s known as a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), in 1983. It required the state’s investor-owned utilities to contract out or personal at the least 105 megawatts of renewable power, which is sufficient to energy tens of hundreds of houses. Iowa reached that aim by 1999, Wind stated. When the RPS was enacted, the state legislature was run by Democrats, although it nonetheless wasn’t that controversial: Iowa lawmakers, together with Republican Gov. Terry Branstad , noticed a chance to make Iowa extra power impartial within the wake of the 1970s energy crisis (an precise disaster, by the best way, not the manufactured energy emergency Trump has conjured ). The state has additionally by no means had a big fossil-fuel business to foyer towards pro-renewable laws, Wind stated.

Later, state and particularly federal tax incentives for renewable power additional propelled wind to dominance in Iowa. Within the ’90s, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, helped set up a federal tax credit score for constructing wind farms. That finally helped earn Grassley the title of “father” of Iowa wind energy .

MidAmerican Power Firm, the biggest electrical utility in Iowa and a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Power, was particularly hungry for tax credit, Wind stated, and has since constructed out an unlimited quantity of wind power. (In reporting this story, Vox reached out to a number of Republican politicians and power authorities within the state. Branstad, Grassley’s workplace, MidAmerican, and Berkshire Hathaway Power all declined interview requests. Sen. Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds didn't reply to interview requests.)

The state’s many farmers — a core part of Iowa’s financial system that maintains loads of political energy — have additionally helped the wind business take off. Farmers throughout Iowa have put generators on their land as a method to earn extra revenue. Whereas crop costs and yields are unstable and on the whims of pure disasters, wind generators provide a comparatively steady income, on the dimensions of hundreds of {dollars} per 12 months, per turbine.

<img alt="A man wearing a bright turquoise shirt, which is blowing in the wind. A wind turbine is seen in the distance across a wheat-colored field." data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Dave Johnson, a farmer who earns cash from the turbine situated on his property in Riceville, Iowa. Annick Sjobakken for Vox

“It’s an actual blessing for us,” stated Dave Johnson, a livestock farmer in northern Iowa who leases his land to a utility that put in 4 generators on his property. He earns about $30,000 a 12 months from the 4 generators mixed, he advised Vox. Johnson’s son additionally has generators on his farm.

Johnson, a Republican who says he voted for Trump, had the generators put in primarily as a result of he needed his farm — the place he raises cattle and hogs — to generate extra worth. “I by no means had a 401(okay),” he stated. “I farmed and caught all the things again into the farm. That is the 401(okay) that I by no means had.”

Fred Koschmeder, a corn and soybean farmer close to Johnson’s farm, additionally has generators on his land. “I don’t even take a look at it as a political factor,” Koschmeder, who additionally says he voted for Trump, stated of wind power. “It's financial growth. When you’ve acquired an opportunity to take part in one thing that brings worth, I feel you’re form of silly to not do it. … It provides loads of worth to your farm and additional revenue, too.”

Farming in Iowa has turn out to be extra economically difficult in recent times, as the value of some crops like soybeans have dipped , and farm prices, equivalent to tractor repairs, have spiked because of inflation. Local weather change can also be raising the risk of drought and flooding , in response to authorities and educational researchers. Wind power “is permitting farmers to remain on the farm,” Johnson stated. “That helps rural America.”

<img alt="" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_04.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

<img alt="" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_05.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

However even when you’re not a farmer, you doubtless profit from wind generators when you stay in Iowa, stated Steve Guyer, senior power coverage counsel at Iowa Environmental Council, a nonprofit inexperienced group. The state has stable energy bills that are typically properly beneath the nationwide common in price. Onshore wind is the cheapest source of energy with or with out tax credit, as of 2024, in response to the monetary agency Lazard.

“All clients profit from it,” stated Guyer, who previously labored for utilities in Iowa. “Though different prices might rise over time, the price of the wind truly stays steady or lowers. After we issue that into the general utility invoice, it at the least stabilizes the invoice.”

The wind industry also employs roughly 4,000 individuals throughout the state and attracts billions of dollars in capital investments . Plus, it’s the No. 1 taxpayer in a 3rd of Iowa counties , in response to Mak Heddens, who runs a gaggle known as Energy Up Iowa, a coalition of fresh power corporations in Iowa.

Whereas wind power tasks have confronted fierce opposition in a number of counties — anti-wind advocates often rely on misinformation to argue that generators hurt wildlife and threaten human well being — the industry is popular on the entire. This doubtless has little to do with politics or issues about local weather change. Folks throughout the political spectrum like wind power as a result of it’s low-cost, native, and generates cash for the state’s financial system. These are issues Republicans actually care about, stated James McCalley, {an electrical} engineer and wind power skilled at Iowa State College.

“We’re a pink state, and we’ve embraced it, and I’m pleased with that,” stated Brent Siegrist, a Republican state consultant within the western Iowa’s Pottawattamie County , the place a big wind farm produces sufficient electricity to power up to 122,000 homes . “Possibly it’s the commonsense strategy of Iowans: We want power, and if we are able to do it renewably — and it’s not costing us a fortune — why wouldn’t we do it?”

Are Iowa Republicans frightened?

There’s little question that wind power is an enormous a part of Iowa’s financial system — powering the majority of houses and companies within the state — and a boon to residents. But individuals who help Trump usually don’t see his anti-wind place as a lot of a risk or count on it to shift.

Johnson, the livestock farmer, says he doesn’t pay shut consideration to Trump’s feedback on wind power. “I do know he simply shoots his mouth off,” Johnson stated. When requested about actual insurance policies Trump has put in place, together with an govt order that pauses new approvals for wind tasks, Johnson stated he’s not frightened as a result of wind power has loads of help, even amongst Republicans.

Siegrist, in the meantime, downplayed how a lot Iowa will depend on wind power, mentioning that the state nonetheless makes use of coal. And whereas Siegrist doesn’t suppose the federal authorities must be controlling what occurs to wind growth inside states, he’s not frightened about Trump’s anti-wind statements. “I’ve acquired sufficient issues to do in Iowa to fret about Washington, DC,” he advised me.

<img alt="a torn American flag in front of a bright blue sky with clouds" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_06.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

Paul Roeder, a Republican who owns a handful of wind generators in Iowa, is equally untroubled by the administration’s place. “I’m not a lot frightened about politics as I'm about among the different exterior elements that drive the value of power,” Roeder advised me. “The president doesn’t drive the value of power.”

Roeder says he voted for Trump however not due to the president’s stance on renewable power. This raises a key level: Many Republicans help renewable power, they usually might even fear about carbon emissions, however power merely isn’t as salient for them as different points, equivalent to immigration. That helps clarify how somebody like Grassley — the daddy of Iowa wind power, keep in mind — is a Trump ally , regardless that he’s beforehand known as Trump’s feedback about wind power “ idiotic .”

<img alt="A truck parked in a field with a Trump sign in its bed" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Annick-Sjobakken_07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.016666666666666%2C100%2C99.966666666667&w=2400"/> Annick Sjobakken for Vox

It’s additionally value mentioning that, extra typically, individuals don’t usually take into consideration the place their power comes, so long as their lights activate and their payments aren’t surging. I grew up in Iowa and have visited at the least yearly since. Nevertheless it wasn’t till lately — by way of my environmental reporting — that I noticed how vital wind power is to the state. So it’s not surprising that Iowan’s don’t join their power to Trump. “They don’t essentially make the connection to what the president is saying,” stated Bob Keefe, govt director of E2, an affiliation of enterprise leaders, a lot of whom work within the clear power business.

However there's actual trigger for concern.

The sturdy economics of wind power — what allowed generators to proliferate in a conservative state — persist at present, and so it’s affordable to count on that the sector will nonetheless develop. But insurance policies from the Trump administration may severely dent the business throughout the nation, together with in Iowa. On his first day in workplace, Trump signed an govt order that aimed to curtail growth of the wind-energy industry . Amongst different issues, it directed businesses to pause new and renewed federal approvals and leases for each onshore and offshore wind tasks.

Since Trump’s govt order from January 20, the administration has put in place or threatened further tariffs on nations, equivalent to China, that may considerably elevate the price of onshore generators, a few of that are manufactured in Iowa. Even generators which can be manufactured domestically are usually constructed with at the least some overseas elements.

“There's a sure stage of nervousness out there,” Manav Sharma, North America division CEO for Nordex Group, a wind turbine producer that has a manufacturing facility in Iowa, told KCRG .

In an announcement, Alliant Power, the third-largest utility proprietor and operator of regulated wind power within the US, in response to the corporate, stated it should “proceed to observe the Trump Administration govt orders on nationwide power coverage.” TPI Composites, a worldwide firm that manufactures wind turbine blades in Iowa, declined an interview request.

Some wind advocates and lawmakers — together with some conservatives — are additionally frightened that the Republican-controlled Congress might stamp out tax incentives for clear power which can be a part of former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Discount Act (IRA). These incentives have largely benefitted Republican districts however are susceptible to getting minimize as Trump has vowed to repeal the IRA. “I feel the subsidies are the largest subject,” Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton College who specializes within the Midwest, advised Vox. “If they're lowered, will wind power survive?”

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Even when tax credit stay, the Trump administration should still weaken incentives, equivalent to by way of efforts to shrink the IRS. “What may additionally occur is that they minimize the IRS workforce,” Wind stated, including that purposes to get tax credit should undergo the company. “When you begin shedding staff, issues begin slowing down. It simply will get more durable to do enterprise with the IRS.”

These issues are particularly urgent at present as Iowa turns into a hot spot for energy-intensive data centers in keeping with the AI increase. It should want extra power shortly. Google, Meta, and Microsoft are all constructing out or working information facilities within the state, partially, as a result of the state has inexpensive power.

Insurance policies from the administration that hurt renewable power stand to hurt Iowa, stated Keefe of E2. That is true whether or not or not you care about local weather change. “You don’t do this type of injury to an business, you don’t spin off this type of market uncertainty, and issues can be okay,” Keefe stated. “The one manner they’re going to be okay is that if companies and shoppers arise and demand that their lawmakers not take an power supply away from them that occurs to be the most cost effective power we are able to develop proper now.”

“If I used to be a kind of hundreds of Iowans that work within the wind business, or if I had household that labored within the business, I might be calling my lawmaker at present and saying, ‘Hey, acknowledge the dangers that you're placing my neighborhood at — my household, these jobs, our financial system,’” he stated.