U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks visited a Johnson County solar project on Friday afternoon, championing a future focused on reducing the barriers for Iowans to utilize forms of renewable energy.

Miller-Meeks is the chair of the U.S. House Conservative Climate Caucus and attended the event alongside members of the Iowa Conservative Energy Forum. The Hills Solar Farm, where the event took place, is owned and operated by MidAmerican Energy a few miles south of Iowa City.

Miller-Meeks urges bipartisan permitting reform

Miller-Meeks said she hopes support for nationwide permitting reform would be bipartisan because it would facilitate new opportunities for natural resource use, including in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.

She said alterations to current permit procedures “across the board” would reduce the number of barriers standing in the way of a range of projects, including the establishment of renewable energy infrastructure.

“It should not take six years, 10 years, 12 years to build a road (or) to build an energy facility across the United States,” Miller-Meeks said.

In July, Sen. Joe Manchin, I-WV, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, a bill aimed at reforming many of the same aspects of the country’s permitting process that Miller-Meeks said hinder the use of Iowa’s natural resources. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy shortly after introduction but was not acted upon any further this summer.

Reforms open up opportunity for resource utilization, Miller-Meeks says

One attendee asked if something like the Manchin-Barrasso bill could be considered in the House. Miller-Meeks said that the bill pulled some aspects from House Resolution 1, a 2023 effort titled the Lower Energy Costs Act. It passed the House, largely along party lines. The Senate did not take it up.

Miller-Meeks said she would like to work toward a bill that addresses issues that the Manchin-Barrasso bill does not, including easing the permitting process to allow for states, including Iowa, to fully utilize all the different types of energy they have available.

In Iowa, Miller-Meeks pointed to the 10,000-panel solar farm behind her and said, on a gusty Friday afternoon, that wind is an abundant renewable energy resource that is already being used and can be expanded with reform. She also pointed to nuclear projects like the discussed rehabilitation of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Cedar Rapids as opportunities to maximize Iowa’s renewable energy opportunities.

“We are an energy state,” Miller-Meeks said. “We are a net exporter of energy here in the state of Iowa. And it’s a great story to tell, what we have done in continuing to use those natural resources. Every state ought to be able to use the natural resources it has to develop energy.”

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached atrhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.