Electricity demand in Iowa is growing like never before, and a study says that’s largely due to the proliferation of data centers for AI and cloud computing.
The 16th annual Iowa Climate Statement is being released by a group of more than 180 scientists and sustainability scholars from 31 Iowa colleges, universities and other institutions.
Dave Courard-Hauri, a professor of environmental science and sustainability at Drake University, says this is a critical time to think carefully about the state’s energy future.
“As we expand generation capacity, do we want our electric utilities and the corporations building independent data centers to continue the path that Iowa has blazed in renewable energy,” Courard-Hauri asks, “or do we go back to fossil (fueled) plants with climate and health risks as well as price volatility that we’ve all been suffering from recently?”
Jacqueline Dowling, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa, says the state’s being confronted with an exponential increase in the thirst for more power.
“We are now experiencing unprecedented growth in electricity demand. Iowa may see over a 30% increase in peak electricity load in the next decade,” Dowling says. “That’s huge. It’s like adding another major metro area’s worth of power demand to the state.”
She says Iowa utilities are taking an “all of the above” approach in trying to meet escalating demand, including investing in wind and solar, working to restart the state’s only nuclear plant, while also building new gas-fueled plants and ramping up the use of existing coal-fired facilities.
“We’re at a fork in the road for new generation and there are two dominant pathways that we can take. One is fossil-based with new gas plants and higher coal usage,” Dowling says. “The other pathway continues down the path we’ve been on, a wind and solar-dominated system backed by carbon-free, reliable power. In the Iowa Climate Statement, we advocate for the latter.”
Iowa leads the nation in wind and solar power generation, as they account for 60-percent of the state’s electricity, and Dowling says Iowa is reaping multiple benefits.
“Visionary policies set up more than 20 years ago allowed the state to take advantage of zero-fuel cost resources like wind and solar,” Dowling says. “The clean energy ambition and deployment has not only been good for the environment but also our wallets. Iowans pay about 30% less for electricity compared to the nationwide average.”
While nuclear power has pros and cons, Dowling says that avenue is carbon-free and she adds, plans to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo (PAY-low) may be less expensive than building a completely new nuclear facility. Plus, she says the carbon and air pollution benefits of nuclear energy are significantly better than coal.