In 1983, Iowa enacted the Iowa Alternative Energy Production law. The law requires the state’s two investor-owned utilities -- MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy Interstate Power and Light -- to contract for a combined total of 105 megawatts of their generation from renewable-energy resources, including small hydropower facilities. Sources of energy that count toward the standard include photovoltaics, landfill gas, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, municipal solid waste, and anaerobic digestion.
