Vermeer hosts solar roundtable with key energy, economic representatives

Jul. 1—PELLA — Two powerhouse companies in the United States are working together to propel the solar industry forward — and one of them is in Pella, Iowa.

Vermeer Corporation and SOLV Energy have partnered together for a decade to provide "high-quality, renewable energy through state-of-the-art energy systems" for a cleaner planet.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, and representatives from Vermeer, SOLV Energy, the Iowa Utilities Association, Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Iowa Solar Energy Trade Association, Alliant Energy, MidAmerican Energy, Marion County Economic Development Commission and PACE Alliance discussed the impact of solar energy in manufacturing at a roundtable in the Vermeer Global Pavilion.

Vermeer, famously known as "the baler company," manufactures more than agriculture equipment. According to Doug Hundt, president of industrial solutions at Vermeer, about 50% of the company's manufacturing is for infrastructure, and 30% is related to the environment and recycling. The other 20% is for agriculture.

"Our business has grown, and we're in a lot of different markets that people don't always realize," Hundt says.

Vermeer manufactures the PD10 Pile Driver, a machine used by companies like SOLV Energy for solar installation. According to Brandon Wagner, internal sales manager at Vermeer, the company builds 15-20 pile drivers per week in the newly-built Plant 7.

"Pile drivers are a critical part of utility-scale solar construction because they put the post in that the [solar] panels sit on, that would be number one," Hundt says. "Number two, our trenchers, our directional drills, if you think about all of the infrastructure — the transmission lines, the fiber optics that go in to a site like that to take the energy back out, and then of course the automation that comes with it — that's all done by Vermeer equipment. We're very proud of that."

Right now, the solar products Vermeer manufactures are growing at about 100%, according to Hundt.

"Solar is the largest growth by percentage [for our business]," Hundt says. "We've been in that business for 15 or so years, but the last seven, eight years, we've seen exponential growth."

A significant partner of Vermeer is SOLV Energy. As the largest solar contractor in the country, SOLV Energy engineers, procures, constructs and operates solar utility plants. To date, the company has built about 10 gigawatts of solar over 400 plants across the U.S. since 2008.

"The solar energy industry is ripe to grow two or three 'x' where it is today," says George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy. "We currently have about 20% of the U.S. market share in utility-scale solar ... Every one of those projects drives U.S. made steel with Vermeer equipment."

SOLV Energy is currently constructing significant projects in Ohio and Indiana, with the latter projected to be the largest solar utility project in the country upon completion. Hershman wants others to know that utility-scale solar isn't a "California or a coastal issue," but one the entire country can and continues to get behind.

"The biggest market for solar now is Texas, and there are a number of states throughout the Midwest and throughout really most of the country now that recognize this is the lowest cost of energy," Hershman says. "We have a great opportunity to create jobs [and] build a significant manufacturing base — and it's going to be done with Vermeer equipment."

Debi Durham, director of the IEDA, recognizes Iowa's role in providing sustainable, reliable and affordable energy sources to power the state's manufacturing sector. The IEDA's Energy Office recently completed a carbon sequestration study, which analyzed inputs and how to efficiently move carbon through the state's supply chain. The Energy Office is also looking at the state's current hydrogen production.

"We [Iowa] have led on wind [energy], there's no doubt about that. But you're seeing the portfolio around solar grow more and more every day ... on a big scale," Durham says.

At a legislative level, Miller-Meeks says counties and states that can compete on the energy front will be "the ones that win in the future."

"I think the fact that Iowa has been on the forefront of this for the past several decades — we have a phenomenal story to tell. Our manufacturing base has benefited from that ... We need to address those [regulatory and supply chain burdens] on a federal level," Miller-Meeks says.

After more than a decade in renewable energy, Vermeer and SOLV Energy know the transition to clean energy is a bipartisan issue.

"This needs to be an all-in energy approach for the health of our country and the need to be competitive," Hershman says. "That means we need to look at real industrial policy that supports by-side of renewables as well as [the] supply side of renewables. Recognize that we have to do this collectively and that we can all support the growth of manufacturing and the job creation that is within the renewable sector."

As the renewable energy market continues to grow, so does Vermeer.

"Oftentimes we don't think about who's making the machines to install, so it's more about jobs. It's more about the future of our country. It's about energy security. It's to create that general awareness so our policymakers and our leaders understand the impact locally as it does with our company here in Pella, Iowa," Hundt says.

Emily Hawk is the associate editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. She can be reached at ehawk@oskyherald.com.