Renewable Energy Policy

The golden dome of the Iowa State Capitol.

Renewable energy production is either encouraged by favorable policy or discouraged by unfavorable policy. Renewable energy policy is determined by several governmental bodies including the federal government, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Iowa State Legislature, the Iowa Governor's office, and the Iowa Utilities Board. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission can also play a role in drafting or enforcing policies related to renewable energy.

In 2007, the Iowa Office of Energy Independence (IOEI) opened its doors. The OEI is charged with creating an Iowa Energy Plan every year to establish Iowa's path toward a reliance on energy that does not depend on outside sources of fuel and electricity and to distribute $25 million a year for four years in grants and loans that will go towards projects to help the state reach its goal towards independence.

In 2007, the Iowa State Legislature created the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council (ICCAC), which consists of 23 governor-appointed members from various stakeholder groups, and four non-voting, ex-officio members from the General Assembly. The ICCAC is charged with creating a proposal that addresses policies, cost-effective strategies, and multiple scenarios designed to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions. I-Renew's Executive Director serves on the Council's Clean and Renewable Energy subcommittee to assist in the creation of the final proposal, which is due in December 2008.

I-Renew's Guiding Principles for 2010

  1. Include renewable energy equipment in utility’s energy efficiency rebate programs.
    1. Include energy producing equipment such as PV panels and wind turbines.
    2. Heat producing equipment such as solar hot water and corn and wood stoves.
  2. Create Community Based Energy Development in Iowa, following Minnesota’s example and/or by the IUB establishment of Feed-In-Tariffs for new Renewable Energy Systems.
  3. Institute a fossil fuel carbon tax, and/or cap & trade and/or 100% auction cap & dividend program.
  4. Make grid-interconnecting renewable energy generation simple, inexpensive, and standard.
    1. Adopting strong interconnection rules at the Iowa Utilities Board. I-Renew will work with the Iowa Environmental Council and other partner organizations to ensure adoption of rules in 2009.
  5. Include Rural Electric Cooperatives and municipal utilities in Iowa’s net metering and interconnection laws.
  6. Increase funding for the Iowa Energy Center’s Alternate Energy Revolving Loan Program (AERLP).
  7. Develop regional “Clean Energy Resource Teams” similar to Minnesota’s “CERTS” program.
  8. Encourage Green Flood Recovery initiatives such as biomass energy crop production on Iowa flood plains.
    1. Iowa has the opportunity to recover from the 2008 floods and mitigate future floods with solutions that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Iowa can rebuild with energy efficient homes and communities. Iowa can also put many more perennial grasses and native species on the landscape, which can absorb water, carbon and produce a sustainable energy crop.
  9. Make renewable energy training part of the certification process for the building trades.
  10. Allow money from the Iowa Power Fund and Energy Efficiency Fund to go to small and community scale renewable energy.

Long-term Policy Vision

  1. Include all Iowa electric power producers in an increasing renewable energy production standard with a goal of 100% renewable energy.
  2. Sustainable bio-fuel production conserving soil, water and energy.
  3. Elimination or conversion of all coal fired power plants to locally produced biomass with cogeneration and carbon capture (returning biochar to the soil for increased crop production).
  4. Electric based transportation with smart grid and vehicle to grid battery storage providing integrated mass transportation and renewable energy storage.

We encourage all Iowans to stay informed about issues related to energy policy and to keep in regular contact with their legislators, ICCAC council members, and Iowa Utility Board members to remind them that development of renewable energy is vital to Iowa's economy and environment, as well as to our national security.

GovTrack logo

A great resource for keeping tabs on your federal Senators and Representative is GovTrack, a website for tracking legislation through Congress that includes a separate page for following the votes of the Iowa delegation. You can also individually contact your state legislators at http://www.legis.state.ia.us and your U.S. Senators and Representatives from the following list: