Why Iowa Farmers Embrace Wind Turbines Despite Republican Politics and Trump's Opposition

Iowa is known for its farms, but its landscape is also filled with wind turbines. The state produced 59% of its energy from wind in 2023, the highest share of any US state. For many farmers, wind energy is not about politics or climate change. It is also a way to earn a steady income from their land.

Dave Johnson, a livestock farmer in northern Iowa, leases part of his land to a utility that installed four wind turbines on his property, Vox reported. The turbines bring him about $30,000 a year in total. Johnson raises cattle and hogs and says he wanted his farm to generate more value. “I never had a 401(k),” Johnson said. “I farmed and stuck everything back into the farm. This is the 401(k) that I never had,” he told Vox.

Johnson is a Republican and said he voted for Donald Trump. His son also has wind turbines on his farm. For Johnson, however, the turbines are mainly an economic decision. The steady income from them gives his farm another source of money at a time when farming can be difficult. Johnson is not the only farmer in the area who has chosen wind energy.

Fred Koschmeder, a corn and soybean farmer near Johnson, also has turbines on his land. He too said he voted for Trump, but does not see wind energy as a political issue. “I don’t even look at it as a political thing,” Koschmeder said. “It is economic development. If you’ve got a chance to participate in something that brings value, I think you’re kind of foolish not to do it. It adds a lot of value to your farm and extra income, too.”

Iowa has become a major wind-energy state for several reasons. The simplest one is that the state has strong winds. Iowa is not the windiest state in the Great Plains, but it is closer to large population centres such as Chicago, which need large amounts of electricity. The state also adopted policies supporting renewable energy early.

Iowa became the first US state to establish a renewable portfolio standard in 1983. The policy required investor-owned utilities to contract for or own at least 105 megawatts of renewable energy. Iowa reached that target by 1999, according to Tom Wind, a crop farmer and electrical engineer who has worked in the wind sector for decades. Later, state and federal tax incentives helped wind energy expand further.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley also played a role in the growth of the industry. In the 1990s, he helped establish a federal tax credit for building wind farms. This eventually earned him the title of the “father” of Iowa wind energy. Farmers became an important part of the growth because turbines gave them another source of income. Crop prices and yields can change, while a wind turbine can provide relatively stable revenue of thousands of dollars each year.

Farming in Iowa has become more difficult in recent years. The price of some crops, including soybeans, has fallen, while farm expenses such as tractor repairs have increased with inflation. For farmers such as Johnson, wind energy provides an additional source of income alongside agriculture.

He said the money from turbines can help farmers continue working on their land. Wind energy “is allowing farmers to stay on the farm,” Johnson said. “That helps rural America.” The financial benefit also extends beyond farmers.

Steve Guyer, senior energy policy counsel at the Iowa Environmental Council, said people across the state can benefit from wind power through energy costs. Iowa has relatively stable energy bills that are generally below the national average. According to financial firm Lazard, onshore wind was the cheapest source of energy in 2024, with or without tax credits.

“All customers benefit from it,” Guyer said. “Although other costs may rise over time, the cost of the wind actually remains stable or lowers. When we factor that into the overall utility bill, it at least stabilizes the bill.” The wind industry also employs about 4,000 people in Iowa and attracts billions of dollars in capital investment. Mak Heddens, who runs the clean-energy coalition Power Up Iowa, said wind is the No. 1 taxpayer in a third of Iowa counties.

The strong economic benefits of wind energy have helped it remain popular in a state that has become strongly Republican. Iowa voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, with Trump winning 94 of the state's 99 counties in 2024. That creates a contrast with Trump's long-standing opposition to wind energy.

Trump has criticised wind power for years and has taken steps intended to slow the industry's growth. On Inauguration Day, Trump said, “We’re not going to do the wind thing,” while describing wind turbines as “Big, ugly wind mills” that “ruin your neighborhood.”

Some Iowa Republicans who benefit from wind energy, however, are not particularly worried about Trump's position. Johnson said he does not pay much attention to Trump's comments about wind power. “I know he just shoots his mouth off,” Johnson said. When asked about an executive order pausing new approvals for wind projects, Johnson said he was not worried because wind energy has support among Republicans.

Brent Siegrist, a Republican state representative, also said he was not concerned about Trump's statements. “I’ve got enough things to do in Iowa to worry about Washington, DC,” he said.

Despite the industry's economic strength, wind developers face uncertainty over federal policies. In January, last year, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to pause new and renewed federal approvals and leases for onshore and offshore wind projects.

Potential tariffs are another concern. Tariffs on countries such as China could increase the cost of wind turbines because some turbines contain foreign-made parts, even when the turbines themselves are manufactured in Iowa. “There is a certain level of nervousness in the market,” Manav Sharma, North America division CEO for Nordex Group, a wind turbine manufacturer with a production facility in Iowa, told KCRG.

There are also concerns about federal tax incentives for clean energy. Some wind advocates and lawmakers worry that Congress could reduce incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act. Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University, said, “I think the subsidies are the biggest issue. If they are reduced, will wind energy survive?”