I had the pleasure of catching up with Nathan to hear more about his role at the state table and how the table and it’s distributed solar campaign are working together to build power in Iowa. Read more from Nathan below and catch the update from the Iowa State Table in the Campaign and State Table section.
Sarah Ann Shanahan: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Nathan Shepherd: I grew up in Illinois and moved to Iowa after graduating from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in general agriculture and environmental studies. My wife and I have two college-aged kids. I work with the Iowa Policy Project and recently took on the State Table Coordinator position when our former coordinator moved on to another job. I’ve been involved with environmental advocacy for much of my life, so it has been a natural progression for me to support the work of the State Table in this role.
Sarah Ann Shanahan: How does Iowa’s solar distributed generation campaign align with the goals of the state table?
Nathan Shepherd: Our state table work on solar distributed generation is a key component of our larger solar campaign. The mission of the state table is to advance clean energy and climate protecting policies within the state – and the success of this is in part dependent on our ability to preserve net metering. The development of the solar market in Iowa has come through the ability of solar customers to offset their energy costs, and if utilities design rate structures that diminish returns, solar will likely fall off. Of course, net metering is mired in the regulatory realm – we’re fortunate to have Table members with diverse skill-sets, and several have the expertise needed to effectively monitor, analyze and challenge the workings of our state utilities board and regulated utilities.
Our solar tours are also helping raise the profile of these issues. Legislators and local leaders get to hear directly from solar installers and customers talking about how important net metering and solar tax credits have been to the viability of their installations. And this is developing the same kind of bipartisan support for solar that we have seen for wind. So I guess you could say that our work is both defensive (challenging attacks on the net metering rate structure) and proactive (cultivating solar advocates).
Sarah Ann Shanahan: What are you most excited about for the Iowa State Table this year?
Nathan Shepherd: I’m excited about our ongoing power analysis development. It will be a county by county interactive map that identifies the clean energy assets in the state, from actual to proposed, as well as transmission lines, coal and natural gas plants, etc…all overlaid on legislative districts. It’s to be a web-based tool available to all Table members and , so when we advocate for a policy we can go to our map and say here’s what’s in your district, and here’s what’s worked in other districts, allowing us to make smarter choices. We’re also mapping our member’s resources so we have a sense as a community where are strong and weak and help turn out support at critical times.
I’m also excited and challenged by the opportunity for our Table to grow in the coming year. We currently have 12 members, but have identified other key voices that need to be brought in and have begun outreach to these folks.
Sarah Ann Shanahan: What inspires you to do this work?
Nathan Shepherd: Well, I’ve got kids who have witnessed the disturbing effects of climate change during their lives, not to mention the changes I’ve seen during mine, and the opportunity to contribute to a future with clean energy is certainly inspiring. But aside from the environmental motivation, the people that we work with – many of them volunteers – are most inspiring. There is a tremendous commitment amongst these folks to do the serious work of the Table.
Sarah Ann Shanahan: Anything else you’d like to share with Network members?
Nathan Shepherd: If you are interested in more information about the Iowa Clean Energy State Table, or our solar campaign, please feel free to contact me!