A report from the environmental group the Sierra Club finds utilities have not adequately planned to transition to clean energy. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Iowa utilities, along with the majority of utilities across the country, scored an F grade in a report from the Sierra Club that rates utilities’ plans to transition to clean energy and to meet increased demand rates through 2035.
Iowa utility companies said the report “oversimplifies utility planning” and that they are still striving for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions while keeping consumer costs low and maintaining reliability.
In its 2025 “The Dirty Truth Report,” Sierra Club rated the 50 parent companies that own the most fossil fuel generation in the country, along with their 75 operating companies. The utilities were rated on their plans to retire coal by 2030, plans to not build new gas plants through 2035 and plans to build enough clean energy infrastructure to not only replace fossil fuel generation, but to also meet the growing load needs by 2035.
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Collectively, U.S. utilities received an F rating for the first time since Sierra Club began the report in 2021. In the past years, utilities overall received a D score.
The report notes that this year utilities face “dual pressures” via a change in political outlook toward clean energy from the Biden administration to the current Trump administration, which also canceled a number of clean energy incentive programs, and a “surge in projected electricity demand.”
According to a report from ICF, a global technology provider, U.S. electricity demand is expected to grow 25% by 2030. By 2050, the report predicts energy demand increases of nearly 80%.
The Sierra Club report attributes “sharply rising” load growth projections to a combination of the energy demand from data centers that power artificial intelligence models and digital infrastructure and the “electrification” of automobiles, buildings and industry.
“Currently planned clean energy is barely sufficient to replace half of existing coal and gas generation, let alone supply forecast load growth,” the report said.
While utilities overall scored seven points lower on this year’s report compared to Sierra Club’s 2024 Dirty Truth report, 65% of utilities have improved their clean energy scores, which are based on commitments to solar and wind projects, since 2021.
But, the report points out, the majority, or 69%, of utilities have worsened their scores in the gas category by planning new natural gas projects.
These trends fit with Iowa’s main utilities, MidAmerican Energy, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and Interstate Power and Light Company, or IPL, owned by Alliant Energy Corp.
How Iowa utilities stack up
IPL and MidAmerican scored high in the clean energy category. IPL received a 72% and MidAmerican a 52%. But, both companies have natural gas plans that lowered their overall scores. According to the report, IPL has plans for 1,275 megawatts of natural gas generation by 2035 and MidAmerican has plans for 1,164 megawatts by 2035.
Grades explained:
Different from the traditional school grading system, Sierra Club explains that to earn an A, companies must score a 75 or greater, a B between 50 and 75, a C between 35 and 50, a D between 17.5 and 35 and Fs are reserved for companies that score a 17.5 or lower on the scale.
A perfect 100 would mean the company committed to: retire all of its coal by 2030, not build any new gas through 2035 and build an amount of new clean energy that would cover existing fossil fuel generation and projected growth by 2035.
Geoff Greenwood, a spokesperson for MidAmerican Energy, said since 2004, MidAmerican has invested in 7,600 megawatts of wind energy and 141 megawatts of solar energy, with more planned in the works, that makes the company a “renewable energy leader not just in Iowa, but in the country.”
“MidAmerican’s customers expect and trust us to plan for, and deliver on, providing energy every minute of every day – no matter what – now and in the future,” Greenwood said in an emailed statement. “…When the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine, reliable fuel sources are essential to helping us meet customer demand.”
Greenwood said MidAmerican’s coal generation was 51.8% lower in 2024 than it was in 2024 and the company “will continue to retire the remaining coal units by 2049.”
A spokesperson for Alliant energy said the company has a net-zero emissions goal by 2050, and plans to eliminate all coal from generation by 2040. The spokesperson said Alliant carbon dioxide emissions in 2024 were 39% lower than the company’s 2005 levels.
“We are implementing our strategic plan to create a more sustainable future for our customers and communities,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We will continue to review and update our Energy Vision, based on future economic developments, evolving energy technologies and emerging trends in the communities we serve.”
Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Director Pamela Mackey Taylor said Iowa’s utility companies “keep clinging to gas and coal.”
“While the wind turbines are hard to miss, it’s Iowa’s dirty secret that there are still 6 coal plants across the state polluting our air and water,” Mackey Taylor said in a statement. “It’s time these companies acted in our best interest, and that means phasing out dangerous fossil fuels to save lives and lower bills.”
Greenwood said as part of the company’s “all-of-the-above approach” to meet current and future customer demand, MidAmerican is moving forward with its 2025 Solar Reliability Project, which will add a projected 709 MW of wind by 2027 and 800 MW of solar by 2028 and its planned Orient Energy Center, a natural gas power plant that will be able to deliver 520 MW during critical times.
“The Sierra Club’s report oversimplifies utility planning and fails to account for regional differences, regulatory frameworks, the real-world challenges of scaling renewable infrastructure, and the unwavering need to serve customers regardless of the circumstances,” Greenwood said.
“Here in Iowa, MidAmerican’s planning and progress have resulted in reliable electricity with rates that are seventh lowest in (the) country and 44% below the national average, and the recognition that MidAmerican is a renewable energy leader in the U.S.” he said.
This was the second year IPL received an F. Its parent company, Alliant, received a C in the report. MidAmerican received an F this year after three consecutive years of scoring a D. Its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, scored a D in the latest report.
Per the report, none of the parent companies garnered an A this year, and just three utility companies scored an A in the 2025 report. According to Sierra Club, 16 utility companies “backtracked” this year on previous climate commitments. The report said this “poor planning” from utilities will result in higher bills for customers.
“Utilities are still not planning for the clean energy transition at the pace and scale needed to address rising electricity costs or protect public health,” Sierra Club said in the report. “Since our first report five years ago, utilities’ aggregate score has declined by 3 points, moving in the wrong direction at a time when acceleration is critical.”