Today the Iowa House is scheduled to debate whether Iowa should build a nuclear energy plant. House File 561 establishes the regulatory construct and regulatory certainty that is needed for Iowa to attract the significant capital required for a nuclear facility.
Read the Bill Summary here and the Amendment Summary here.
Dove hunting update
March 23, 2011 by O.Kay Henderson · Leave a Comment
The Iowa Senate yesterday took about four minutes to pass a bill that would allow dove hunting in Iowa. Today, the Iowa House may tack that dove hunting proposal onto another bill — about raccoon hunting. The House is scheduled to gavel in for action at 1 p.m., but there may be closed-door meetings (party caucuses) before debate actually begins in public. Count on a debate lasting longer than four minutes, if/when it starts.
The Iowa Office of Energy Independence (OEI) announced that $250,000 was given to Iowa from the State Energy Program and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant to make it easier for all Iowans to access biofuels and use more homegrown Iowa fuels throughout the state.
This funding will help consumers have more choices at the pump, support local farmers and help the biofuels industry’s long term success. Biofuels and biodiesel are a key component of our state’s and nation’s economy and a powerful part of our clean energy future.
Through this funding, OEI will initiate a campaign through public awareness, market incentives and education, that will support creating the market for mid and high blend ethanol that can be dispensed from blender pumps.
For more information visit: www.energy.iowa.gov.
A report prepared by the Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative (UMTDI) that identified six renewable energy transmission corridors connecting more than 15,000 megawatts of wind development in the region. If fully developed, the lines within these corridors will help realize the full economic potential of the region’s wind and other clean energy resources.
Of the six corridors, two are located in Iowa. One parallels the northern border of the state and one is in mid-state. The economic impact from the build-out of the transmission lines is substantial. It is estimated nearly 600 jobs will be created. These jobs include electricians, linemen, technicians, equipment operators, mechanics, steel workers, engineers and concrete workers. The executive summary of the report and full report are attached.
UMTDI’s Report Findings
1. In 2009, UMTDI developed a set of cost allocation principles that can serve as a foundation for ongoing cost allocation discussions in the region and the country.
2. It also chose 20 renewable energy zones within the five-state region to serve as proxies for the likely regional growth in renewable energy. These zones were reasonably balanced between those close to customers (and thus requiring less transmission investment) and those with a stronger wind resource (which are generally farther from customers and thus require more transmission capacity). The 15,000 megawatts of potential wind is the amount required to serve the existing clean energy obligations of the five states and the zones provide a basis upon which additional wind can be developed for export to other regions.
3. The six renewable energy transmission corridors span the five-state region, connect the 20 renewable energy zones, and if built upon, provide for reliability and transmission congestion relief in addition to renewable energy benefits. The corridors were chosen after extensive work by UMTDI with assistance from the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO) and transmission owners in the region.
State Representatives Roger Thomas of Elkader and Andrew Wenthe of Hawkeye joined Senators Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington and Bill Heckroth of Waverly at the Volga River State Recreation Area to participate in the new campground opening ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new campground at the north end of the Volga River was funded by a $1.5 million infrastructure appropriation. The 42 new campsites all have electricity and water while 34 have sewer connections as well. Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table. The camp pads are level and 11 are paved, pull through sites.
The project began when roads for the campground were built in 2005. In 2008, the legislature approved $750,000 to develop the campground and another $750,000 was provided in 2009 to complete the project.
For more information on the Campground visit: http://www.iowadnr.gov/parks/state_park_list/volga_river.html