Nick Andersen, who raises hogs near Westgate in Fayette County, looked for a long time for ways to trim rising energy costs for his finishing building.

The Farm Bureau member considered installing a wind turbine but decided it wasn’t right for his operation. Then last year he decided to contact Van Wall Energy about taking advantage of an Iowa Farm Bureau member benefit to install a solar project.

He’s very glad he did.

Since he installed the fixed ground-mounted solar array system at his farm, Andersen has seen his electricity bills decline to less than 30 percent of what they were before the installation.

“The savings are very welcome, especially with the tight margins we have now,” Andersen said.

More and more Iowa farmers...