Bipartisan group of legislators tour Iowa renewable energy facilities
This Wednesday, August 14, Iowa reporters are invited to cover all or part of a tour of several Iowa renewable energy success stories. Organized by a bipartisan group of state legislators, the goal to learn how Iowa’s renewable energy industry understands its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in today’s economy.
This event is being organized by the bipartisan Iowa Future Caucus of the Iowa Legislature. Caucus members will be joined by other lawmakers as they visit businesses in Mason City, Colo, and North Liberty.
The Iowa Future Caucus is chaired by Representative Lindsay James (D-Dubuque), Representative Joe Mitchell (R-Mount Pleasant), Senator Zach Nunn (R-Bondurant), and Senator Zach Wahls (D-Coralville). The Iowa Future Caucus is composed of young lawmakers dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions to the long-term problems facing future generations of Iowans.
The complete schedule for the Wednesday, August 14th tour is below.
9AM – Mason City
Ethanol Plant Tour at Golden Grain Energy, a privately-held company dedicated to adding value to northern Iowa’s corn production by turning locally-grown corn into clean-burning ethanol.
10AM – Mason City
Biodiesel Plant Tour at Renewable Energy Group, a global producer and supplier of renewable fuels like biodiesel and renewable diesel, renewable chemicals and other products.
1PM – Colo
Wind Farm Tour at the NextEra Wind Farm. NextEra Energy Resources is a leading wholesale power generator, operating power plants and offering a diverse fuel mix to utilities, retail electricity providers, power cooperatives, municipal electric providers and large industrial companies.
5PM – North Liberty
Solar Installer Tour at MOXIE Solar in North Liberty. Founded in 2008, MOXIE Solar has more than 500 successfully completed projects in Iowa, projects which have earned predominantly 5 star customer reviews.
Iowa Future Caucus
Founded in 2019 and co-chaired by Representative Lindsay James, Representative Joe Mitchell, Senator Zach Nunn, and Senator Zach Wahls, the Iowa Future Caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral group of young lawmakers. The Iowa Future Caucus is dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions to solve the long-term problems facing future generations of Iowans.
“Protecting the quality of life for our kids and our grandchildren means we have to take seriously air and water quality, the development of clean and renewable sources of energy, and pursue policies that build environmentally friendly infrastructure for our cities and towns.” – Rep. Lindsay James
“Solar, wind, biodiesel and ethanol are all components of progressing towards cleaner energy in our state and the energy of our future. I’m excited to learn more about Iowa clean energy and figure out ways to continue to support it. Iowa has been the leader in wind energy. Let’s continue to do that with other clean energy options.” – Rep. Joe Mitchell
“Iowa’s renewable energy industries create jobs, support rural communities, and provide alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. Renewables will continue to be an important part of our state’s future for many decades to come, and it’s terrific to have this tour so we can learn more about what’s in store for these Iowa companies.” – Senator Zach Wahls (D-Coralville)
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