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April 10, 2026
Legislation protects private property rights and promotes reliable, affordable electricity
Legislation signed into law April 9 by Gov. Kim Reynolds will open up existing rights-of-way along Iowa’s interstate highways as possible sites for building electric transmission — a victory for protecting farms and other private property from overuse of eminent domain.
Several electric transmission lines are expected to be built in Iowa to meet the state’s future electricity needs. However, the siting of these lines can affect a significant number of landowners, resulting in an overuse of eminent domain and lengthy and costly disputes over land acquisitions.
Iowa now joins several states, including Wisconsin, Nevada, and Montana, in giving utilities and transmission developers the option to site projects along interstate rights-of-way. Senate File 2214, which passed both chambers of the Iowa Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, will enable transmission developers to work with one landowner — the Iowa Department of Transportation — to site transmission infrastructure, limiting the need to acquire land from multiple landowners.
The state of Wisconsin implemented a similar policy in 2003, enabling the placement of more than 200 miles of transmission infrastructure in interstate rights-of-way and avoiding impacts to thousands of private landowners.
The policy change has drawn wide support from Iowa residents, electric utilities serving the state, and advocacy organizations focusing on energy, agricultural, and labor issues.
“Finding innovative policy reforms to build out our energy grid while preserving landowner rights has been critical this legislative session,” said Nick Boeyink, executive director of the Iowa Conservative Energy Forum. “This bill accomplishes both of these goals and positions Iowa to better meet the energy demand for its growing economy.”
Other organizations are celebrating the legislative win following engagement with the Iowa Department of Transportation on the issue over the last several years.
“Modernizing our aging electrical grid is a necessity for the future of rural Iowa. The Center for Rural Affairs supports SF 2214 because it reimagines our state’s highway corridors as vital energy arteries,” said Tod Bowman, Policy Associate at the Center for Rural Affairs and former Iowa State Senator. “This approach streamlines the development of a more resilient grid, ensuring that rural homes and businesses have access to reliable power without unnecessary delays or the fragmentation of private land.”
In public opinion polling conducted in Iowa last year on behalf of NextGen Highways, more than 80 percent of respondents said they would support placing transmission lines in highway and interstate corridors as an alternative to siting them on private land.
“When we asked Iowans what they thought about co-locating transmission in interstate highway rights-of-way, their answer was essentially, ‘Why wouldn’t you do this?’” said Randy Satterfield, NextGen Highways’ executive director. “States like Iowa are looking for straightforward options to build the energy infrastructure they need faster, and we’re excited that this legislation now adds co-location to that list of options.”
The policy win in Iowa follows legislation signed into law in Virginia earlier this month, which will kick off a process of study and recommendations for co-locating new electric transmission along that state’s highways.
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About NextGen Highways
NextGen Highways is an initiative that builds coalitions and works to advance common-sense policy reforms to transform highway rights-of-way into multi-purpose infrastructure corridors that support electric transmission, broadband deployment, and other critical infrastructure. Learn more at nextgenhighways.org.