Celebrating ELPC 30 Years - 2023 Gala

Cleaning Up MidAmerican Energy

ELPC is part of a broad coalition pushing to retire Iowa’s polluting coal plants and shift to renewable energy, to save money and save lives

MidAmerican energy is an Iowa utility that publicly touts a 100% renewable energy vision, but it also operates one of the largest coal plant fleets in the country. This outdated, expensive, and polluting energy source is harming the economy, the environment, and public health. ELPC is part of a broad coalition of Iowans pushing to Clean Up MidAm. 

Protest Rally in Iowa for no more coal. people holding signs and flagsEvery year, pollution from MidAmerican’s coal plants results in 90 premature deaths and increases Iowa’s collective health care costs by more than $140 million. Coal plants contribute to water, air, and climate pollution, which directly affects the communities and agricultural economy of the state. According to a report from the Iowa Environmental Council, more than 2/3 of Iowa counties experience annual corn production losses from 66-360 million bushels, due to coal contamination. 

In reality, clean energy is cheaper than coal, and Iowans paid an extra $49.7 million in excess costs from Iowa coal plants. Instead of leaning into home-grown energy from the wind and sun, Iowans are still paying to import coal and gas from neighboring states to burn here, which contributes to unpredictable electric bills. Utilities in many other states are closing their coal plants because the economics are clear. It is time for MidAmerican to do the same.

What is ELPC Doing?

Digging into the Data 

ELPC, the Sierra Club, and Iowa Environmental Council commissioned a study in 2021 to determine the economic cost of operating MidAmerican’s coal plants. The Synapse Energy economics group found MidAmerican Energy could save Iowans nearly $1.2 billion by retiring its coal plants by 2030 and transitioning renewable energy. We filed that analysis with the Iowa Utilities Commission and fought to ensure that balanced economic evidence couldn’t be excluded from the planning process.  

When MidAmerican proposed its massive Wind PRIME project, including 2,042 MW of wind and 50 MW of solar development, ELPC and our colleagues questioned it on two fronts: Where was the analysis to justify this plan and why wasn’t the utility also planning to close its coal plants? MidAmerican’s own internal study reached a similar conclusion. The Iowa Utilities Commission agreed with our coalition, finding that the utility did not demonstrate adequate planning, and solar generation is better situated to meet reliability needs than MidAmerican’s wind/coal fleet. After further proceedings, MidAmerican agreed to a settlement that included a voluntary Resource Evaluation Study to comprehensively look at energy planning. 

Pursuing Transparency  

In October 2024, the Iowa Utilities Commission made a key decision to improve utility transparency in the state by rescinding its outdated Renewable Energy Verification rules. Environmental advocates, including ELPC and the Iowa Environmental Council, welcomed this move, which will prevent utilities from using the IUC to legitimize misleading claims about their renewable energy mix.  

ELPC Senior Attorney Josh Mandelbaum said, “The outdated verification rules allowed MidAmerican to mislead the public about its clean energy mix, claiming 100% renewable energy while operating a large, uneconomic, and polluting coal fleet. By rescinding these rules, the IUC shows its leadership by refusing to give a stamp of approval to MidAmerican’s misleading claims.” 

Engaging & Educating the Public 

ELPC is a proud member of the Clean Up MidAm campaign, along with organizations including the Iowa Environmental Council, Sierra Club, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, Mom’s Clean Air Force, and countless independent Iowans who care about the future of the state. We speak at public events and engage with the community about the economic and environmental opportunities of retiring coal in favor of affordable, clean, and renewable energy.