Company Behind Steele Flats Wind Farm Donates to White House Ballroom

By Gordon Hopkins Last week, the White House released a list of donors to a ballroom currently under construction where the East Wing once stood. One of those company names has a strong business presence in Jefferson and Gage counties.NextEra Energy, Inc., is an American energy company that currently owns and operates the Steele Flats Wind Farm, which extends across portions of both counties. It is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from wind and solar.The amounts donors contributed were not included but both individuals and corporations were listed, including such names as Union Pacific, Amazon, Google, Lochhead Martin and Hard Rock International. Donors have the option to remain anonymous, so the only names released were of those that agreed to be released.NextEra’s support of the White House project might come as a surprise to some given President Trump’s openly hostile feeling toward wind energy. Trump called wind turbines “so pathetic and so bad” during his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Nuclear EnergyHowever, NextEra does not just deal in wind and solar energy. NextEra also owns and operates plants that generate power using oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.Nuclear energy in particular has been touted by many as the best solution to meet increasing demand for electricity as both AI (Artificial Intelligence) and cryptocurrency industries continue to expand, requiring more energy. A number of other donors to the ballroom construction are cryptocurrency or AI businesses.On Tuesday, October 28, Google and NextEra jointly announced plans to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Linn County, Iowa. It was an Iowa only nuclear power plant and decommissioned in 2020. A press release issued by the companies cited AI as a motivation for the project, “As the U.S. enters a new era of innovation and opportunity driven by AI, this strategic collaboration aims to enable Google to grow its business needs responsibly.” Support for the BallroomWhile opponents of the president have been critical of the new construction, U.S. Representative Don Bacon recently spoke in support of the ballroom.Bacon said, “If they've wanted to have more than 200 people, they've had to bring in a tent, put in flooring, and put a temporary tent in to do this. I think a ballroom is needed. That's the bottom line. Now it should be transparent who's donating the money. I think it should be very transparent what it's going to look like. My main concern was, I didn't want it to overshadow the White House itself. It should be significantly to the side of where the White House is at. I've looked at the blueprints. I think they're doing that.”

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