Iowa Football Star Returns to Iowa to Promote Renewable Energy
Former University of Iowa football star and NFL player returned to Iowa on February 10 to promote energy independence measures being considered by the Iowa legislature.
 Speaking at a press conference at the capitol alongside legislators and advocates, Dwight, now owner of the California-based renewable energy company iPower, told legislators that he sees the potential for Iowa to grow renewable energy businesses and jobs.
“I see it on a massive scale. We can bring jobs, not just to install, but to build the components here,” said Dwight.
Dwight and the group of legislators and advocates aim to make clean, renewable energy more affordable and accessible for all Iowa citizens by passing two pieces of legislation – the Energy Independence Payments bill (SF2228, HF2331) and the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) (HSB602, SSB3114) bill.
Representative Mark Kuhn said the policies would create “small distributed energy systems that can be placed all over the countryside and generate renewable energy throughout the state.”
He and others explained that Energy Independence Payments are set rates paid by utility companies in return for clean, renewable power produced by a person or small business owners, such as a farmer.
“Under this proposal, a person who has invested in a renewable energy system like a wind turbine, would receive a return on that investment equal to the cost of production plus a profit, which would allow them to repay the [cost of the system] over a period of 10 years,” said Kuhn.
Representative Nathan Reichert explained the PACE bill would allow the capital investment to be “attached to the house instead of the home owner.”
“That allows you to make longer term investments to improve the overall efficiency of the structure,” said Reichert.
Senator Daryl Beall told the group that wind energy is not only good for small businesses and the Iowa consumer, but it also means jobs and revenue for the state of Iowa.
“You know over the last few years we’ve been pretty good to the big investor-owned utility companies. You’ll see a lot of Alliant and MidAmerican Energy wind farms around the state. We provided them with incentives and reasons to build here. And I’m proud of that. I think it was the right thing to do. But I think we also have to make sure there’s a seat at that wind table for the small farmer—the little guy. And that’s what we’ll continue to do. This is just a tremendous growth opportunity for Iowa and Iowans,” said Beall.
Advocates noted that similar policies have created hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Europe.
“If you look at the leadership that the Germans have had on that subject, they have half the wind and half the sun we have here in Iowa. But, yet, they have more wind and more solar produced in their country than we do here in Iowa,” said Reichert.
Lawmakers were skeptical about the possibility of passage of both bills this year due to the shortened session and the need for more discussions. But the small businessmen present—Jesse Fenske with Van Wall Energy in Perry and James McCain with Innovative Kinetics in Des Moines—urged legislators to move the measures forward as much as possible this year.
“I think its complex, there are a lot of moving pieces and there’s a lot of consensus that needs to be brought to the table, said Representative Reichert. “I think we’ve continued to move the ball. There’s a long way to go. But now that we’ve got Tim on the team, we ought to be able to move the ball a little faster.”
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Climate Policy Done Right is a Bargain
by Nathaniel Baer, energy program director
This article was orginally published in the Des Moines Register as a guest column on June 25, 2009
 As a nation, we have the choice of a variety of energy futures. For example, there is a future where we essentially do nothing and continue to rely on fossil fuels. Or there is a future where we transition and rely instead on clean energy.
We can put some basic prices on getting to those future scenarios, realizing that no scenario comes free. By doing some comparison shopping, it is clear that the best bargain in town is a clean-energy future, where we use resources such as wind, solar and energy efficiency and avoid the worst effects and costs of climate change. But this bargain is not available forever. We need to put the right energy and climate policies in place now to take advantage of it.
Moving to this clean-energy economy will require significant investments. These include an infrastructure of new technology, such as wind turbines, solar panels, new or retrofitted green buildings and passenger rail, as well as research, training and education. But these investments will generate real benefits, including new jobs, and avoid substantial costs associated with unabated climate change.
In contrast, the cost of doing nothing is enormous. In the do-nothing future, we will export dollars to import fossil fuels and incur the costs of unabated climate change. These costs are wide-ranging - including impacts from extreme weather, property damage, public-health threats and more - and add up to a stagnant or shrinking economy year after year. In the do-nothing future, we will lose the opportunity to create new jobs, new skills, new technologies and new industries that lead to a clean-energy future.
Some informed comparison shopping helps to clarify our choices for energy futures. Several recent reports highlight the value to Iowa of a clean-energy economy. A new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a task force co-chaired by University of Iowa President Sally Mason, observes that "prompt enactment of national climate-change legislation is essential to the Midwest's future prosperity." Likewise, a new report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change shows that in Iowa and across the country, "green" or "clean-energy" jobs are growing two to three times faster than other jobs. There is tremendous potential for additional job growth - but again, only if we put the right policies in place now.
Other research highlights the cost of doing nothing. In the Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, the former chief economist of the World Bank observes that "if we don't act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5 percent of global GDP each year, now and forever." In other words, if you like the staggering economy now, you will love the economy we can expect to see from the full effects of global warming.
Critics of the policies needed to move to a clean-energy future often dwell on the scope and impact of clean-energy investments. They mislabel investments as costs. But worse, they ignore the benefits these investments will create and the significant costs that unabated climate change is expected to carry. To continue the bargain-shopping analogy, this is simply false advertising.
Congress is considering comprehensive legislation that will speed the transition to a clean-energy economy. Notably, the American Clean Energy and Security Act would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions over time and advance a host of renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and transportation policies. This legislation, and the clean-energy future it will help bring, is the best bargain in town. Please urge your political leaders to support it.
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 Ten ways to green your home and your bank account
July 2009
You can start saving by unplugging every gadget that's not in use, from night lights to video-game consoles, a step that can quickly cut a home's electricity use by 10 percent. An alternative is to plug everything into power strips so you can easily turn off the power strips when you leave the house or retire for the evening.
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Get an audit. Before you invest in a project, you need to know what areas of your home need an upgrade and which will be most cost-efficient. Check with your energy utility to see if they offer free energy audits—many do.
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Seal air leaks. As temperatures fluctuate, building materials expand and contract, and cracks can form that let outside air in—and inside air out. To cut air seepage, you’ll pay about $3 for a spray can of foam sealant or a bit more for weather stripping. If you are not sure where the leaks are, use an infrared thermometer ($30 and up) to find where temperatures fluctuate.
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Heating and cooling. Programmable thermostats start as low as $20, and a novice can install one in an hour or so. The benefit? Many have up four different settings, letting you decide what days and what times to turn on the AC or the heat. Like sleeping when the temperature is cooler? Experts say that correct use of a programmable thermostat can cut energy bills an average of $180 a year.
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Install a ceiling fan to circulate cool air in the summer and—once you change the way the blades face—warm air in the winter.
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Make sure air filters are cleaned regularly. If they are clogged with dirt, dust and pet fur, it makes a furnace or air conditioner work harder. And harder working equipment means higher energy bills.
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Lighting. The twisty compact fluorescent light bulbs called CFLs are definitely more expensive, starting at about $10 for a four-pack of 75-watt bulbs. But they pay for themselves in about six months because they use about 75 percent less energy. And then they last about 10 times longer than a standard incandescent light bulb to keep saving you money.
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About a quarter of a home's energy is used for lighting and appliances. You can cut the lighting use dramatically by buying LED lights, which use up to 90 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb. But the selection remains limited.
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This year's federal economic-recovery legislation offers rebates for some energy-efficient appliances. For more information, go to http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/. On average, weatherization reduces heating bills by 32% and overall energy bills by about $350 per year at current prices, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
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And the resourceful can score tax credits of up to 30 percent of the cost of other improvements aimed at making a home more energy efficient. The changes, repairs, installations and general improvements also can lower your utility bills, which helps your wallet as well as the planet -- though most of the credits are capped at $1,500. The credit applies to improvements such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems. To learn more, go to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206875,00.html.
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