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Going solar: Governor visits welding industry
Posted: Friday, July 10, 2015 10:40 am | Updated: 10:42 am, Fri Jul 10, 2015.
By JEFF HUNT MVM News Network

Governor arrives
Lee County Marketing and Communications Manager Dana Klesner (center left) and State Rep. Dave Heaton watch as Jenny Steffensmeier (left), owner of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing Inc. in Pilot Grove, greets Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad Thursday.
PILOT GROVE – Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing Inc. owner Jenny Steffensmeier announced Thursday the company is spending $923,000 to convert the entire operation to solar power.
This makes Steffensmeier Welding the largest commercial operation in the state of Iowa to rely solely on the energy source.
Joined by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and members of Ideal Energy Solar, the Fairfield company that will take on the two-month-long project, Steffensmeier said the project will pay for itself in four to six years.
Steffensmeier said due to a long-time friendship with Branstad, Steve Bisenius with the Lee County Economic Development Group was instrumental in getting the governor to Pilot Grove.
Ideal Energy Solar founder and CEO Troy Van Beek said as Steffensmeier’s business has grown, so has the need for cheaper power.
“This company has been doing amazing business in Pilot Grove,” Van Beek said. “And now the leadership of the company has taken it upon themselves to go 100-percent solar powered.”
The 428-kilowatt solar array will save more than $90,000 a year in energy bills, according to a news release from Steffensmeier and Ideal Energy.
Because solar panels often last 30 to 40 years, the array is expected to result in millions of dollars of savings for Steffensmeier over the next few decades.
Van Beek said installation of the solar equipment should begin in late summer or early fall and take 60 days to complete.
Following a tour of the facility, Branstad said Iowa is claiming a spot among the top renewable resources producers in the country.
“It’s important to remember that 80 percent of the new jobs in our state come from existing businesses,” he said. “The more I can be knowledgeable and helpful to eliminate some of the barriers, the better the Iowa economy and the opportunities in the state.”
Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing is a custom-­order business, with an emphasis on integrity, precision and fine craftsmanship.
Employing 20 people, the company can take projects of any scale from the design phase through final production.
State support
On June 26, Branstad signed House File 645 into action, raising the Iowa solar energy tax from $4.5 million to $5 million. This offsets up to 18 percent of the cost of a solar system for commercial and residential taxpayers and provides a 60 percent match to the 30 percent federal tax incentive.
Branstad first passed legislation to create Iowa’s solar energy tax credits in 2012 and approved an expansion of the program in 2014.
Businesses and residents in 62 of Iowa’s 99 counties have used the tax incentive to help finance solar projects.