A bill that would charge Iowans with solar panels to use the electric grid has drawn polarization throughout the Iowa Legislature. Senate File 583 has already passed, but the house version has stalled as debate continues on whether or not to add the fees. The bill is supported by MidAmerican Energy, but has drawn opposition from the solar energy supporters, who say the measure could significantly harm growth of the renewable power source in the state.

State Senator Ken Rozenboom voted in favor of the measure, saying it’s an issue of fairness.

“For me though, it came down to a simple basic concept of people that do have solar power generation and they want to be able to put that power out onto the grid or receive receive power from the grid at night and when the sun isn’t shining. they need an infrastructure system to to do that and it seems only fair to me that that they are a part of the infrastructure cost,” Rozenboom says. “I would equate it to people that drive electric cars…we don’t have any mechanism to have them help pay for roads, maintenance, and construction, and I think this is equivalent to that.”

Representative Dustin Hite says he is currently planning to vote yes, but says he’s keeping an open mind as the process continues.

Opponents of the measure fear it will cause significant job loss for solar energy companies as they add the fees to their cost of doing business.