Nice to read about some sane conservatives for a change:
Renewable energy in Iowa, spearheaded by innovation and government action over the last half-century, is under threat because of worsening public sentiment, a Midwest economist said.
Iowa has been on the cutting edge of clean energy production and legislation for decades. The state was the first to pass a clean energy standard for utilities and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has been called the “father” of wind energy for ushering in tax credits and subsidies for wind at the federal level.
But growing opposition to wind energy and other forms of clean energy in recent years is concerning, Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha said at a gathering of conservative clean energy advocates.
"What we're seeing in Iowa, and for that matter nationwide, is resistance to wind," he said. "We call it 'not in my backyard.' When you get wind turbines that are spread more broadly across the state, then you get more resistance of those who don't want to hear the hum of the turbines and also other side effects."
The Iowa Conservative Energy Forum, a group led by veteran Republican lawmakers and strategists that promote clean energy production, held a conference in Des Moines on Tuesday focused on the benefits and potential of clean energy.
The partisan gap in Americans' views on renewable energy and climate change has widened in recent years: Just 23 percent of Republicans viewed climate change as a major threat to the U.S. in 2023, down from 30 percent in 2020, according to Pew Research. And while climate change is not a top issue for voters in general, it ranks last among 20 possible issues for Republicans in a 2024 survey.
Republicans' support for solar and wind turbine farms also dropped significantly between 2016 and 2021, according to Pew.
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A 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that human-caused climate change is likely to increase global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius within the 21st century based on different countries’ targets. The impacts of a hotter planet, according to studies, include prolonged extreme heat in more places around the globe, rising sea levels, species loss and reduced crop yields.
Despite Republican hesitancy on the need for renewable energy, the conference's speakers said Republicans can be leaders in renewable energy production and in addressing carbon emissions that are contributing to rising global temperatures.
Former Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who signed a 1983 law requiring utilities to produce a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources, said policymakers should be pursuing an "all of the above" approach to energy production, which includes fossil fuels and renewable sources.
"All of those things need to be part of our effort, an all of the above approach, to make sure that we as a nation have low-cost, reliable and clean energy," he said.
Branstad is a senior policy adviser at Summit Carbon Solutions, a company seeking to build a pipeline across five states, including Iowa, to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emitted at ethanol plants.
That project has also garnered significant opposition, both from Republicans who oppose the use of eminent domain to take land for the projects, and from environmental activists who see it as an ineffective solution to climate change.
Iowa’s wind production is second only to Texas, and wind makes up a higher share of Iowa's energy use than any other state. Wind also is one of the cheapest sources of energy, Goss said, contributing to lower energy costs in Iowa.
Goss said much of the opposition to wind energy has come from people looking at the negative environmental impacts without taking into account the overall picture and cost benefits.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind energy has a lower overall environmental impact and lower carbon emissions than many other sources of energy, but there are some environmental drawbacks.
“What we're seeing is anything to do with energy production of energy, there are environmental issues, there are some negatives. That accompany almost all production of energy … (We’re getting) more and more resistance, and sometimes not recognizing some of the benefits, such as lower costs.”
Rep. Brent Siegrist, a Republican from Council Bluffs, was one of several state lawmakers to attend the conference and he said he would like to see Iowa continue to be a leader in wind and renewable energy.
Siegrist said he does not see concerns around new wind and solar energy projects coming only from Republicans, but said the opposition comes from across the political spectrum. He said siting of new wind projects is a local issue, and he does not see much of a role for the state in addressing those problems.
“People need to listen, people need to be realistic, and I hope the (county) supervisors are able to continue to move us ahead,” he said. “Number one in wind is phenomenal. There’s some downsides to it for some of the people, but I think it’s something we should be proud of.”
Benji Backer, the founder of the right-leaning American Conservation Coalition, said at the conference that Iowa’s approach to renewable energy is a model that can be emulated in other states by prioritizing new clean energy through economic incentives rather than mandates.
Backer argued the debate around climate change solutions and clean energy has been spoiled by "political culture wars," making it difficult for lawmakers to arrive at bipartisan solutions. He said conservatives interested in reducing carbon emissions should approach the issue with skeptical Republicans by talking about economic benefits and energy independence.
"We have so much more overlap on finding a common goal on this than we realize," he said. "The frustrating part is we can't get out of our own political culture wars to realize it. And our politicians could be passing important legislation, our companies could be taking great action, a lot of things could be happening that aren't."
www.thegazette.com
Renewable energy in Iowa, spearheaded by innovation and government action over the last half-century, is under threat because of worsening public sentiment, a Midwest economist said.
Iowa has been on the cutting edge of clean energy production and legislation for decades. The state was the first to pass a clean energy standard for utilities and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has been called the “father” of wind energy for ushering in tax credits and subsidies for wind at the federal level.
But growing opposition to wind energy and other forms of clean energy in recent years is concerning, Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha said at a gathering of conservative clean energy advocates.
"What we're seeing in Iowa, and for that matter nationwide, is resistance to wind," he said. "We call it 'not in my backyard.' When you get wind turbines that are spread more broadly across the state, then you get more resistance of those who don't want to hear the hum of the turbines and also other side effects."
The Iowa Conservative Energy Forum, a group led by veteran Republican lawmakers and strategists that promote clean energy production, held a conference in Des Moines on Tuesday focused on the benefits and potential of clean energy.
The partisan gap in Americans' views on renewable energy and climate change has widened in recent years: Just 23 percent of Republicans viewed climate change as a major threat to the U.S. in 2023, down from 30 percent in 2020, according to Pew Research. And while climate change is not a top issue for voters in general, it ranks last among 20 possible issues for Republicans in a 2024 survey.
Republicans' support for solar and wind turbine farms also dropped significantly between 2016 and 2021, according to Pew.
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A 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that human-caused climate change is likely to increase global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius within the 21st century based on different countries’ targets. The impacts of a hotter planet, according to studies, include prolonged extreme heat in more places around the globe, rising sea levels, species loss and reduced crop yields.
Despite Republican hesitancy on the need for renewable energy, the conference's speakers said Republicans can be leaders in renewable energy production and in addressing carbon emissions that are contributing to rising global temperatures.
Former Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who signed a 1983 law requiring utilities to produce a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources, said policymakers should be pursuing an "all of the above" approach to energy production, which includes fossil fuels and renewable sources.
"All of those things need to be part of our effort, an all of the above approach, to make sure that we as a nation have low-cost, reliable and clean energy," he said.
Branstad is a senior policy adviser at Summit Carbon Solutions, a company seeking to build a pipeline across five states, including Iowa, to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emitted at ethanol plants.
That project has also garnered significant opposition, both from Republicans who oppose the use of eminent domain to take land for the projects, and from environmental activists who see it as an ineffective solution to climate change.
Iowa’s wind production is second only to Texas, and wind makes up a higher share of Iowa's energy use than any other state. Wind also is one of the cheapest sources of energy, Goss said, contributing to lower energy costs in Iowa.
Goss said much of the opposition to wind energy has come from people looking at the negative environmental impacts without taking into account the overall picture and cost benefits.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind energy has a lower overall environmental impact and lower carbon emissions than many other sources of energy, but there are some environmental drawbacks.
“What we're seeing is anything to do with energy production of energy, there are environmental issues, there are some negatives. That accompany almost all production of energy … (We’re getting) more and more resistance, and sometimes not recognizing some of the benefits, such as lower costs.”
Rep. Brent Siegrist, a Republican from Council Bluffs, was one of several state lawmakers to attend the conference and he said he would like to see Iowa continue to be a leader in wind and renewable energy.
Siegrist said he does not see concerns around new wind and solar energy projects coming only from Republicans, but said the opposition comes from across the political spectrum. He said siting of new wind projects is a local issue, and he does not see much of a role for the state in addressing those problems.
“People need to listen, people need to be realistic, and I hope the (county) supervisors are able to continue to move us ahead,” he said. “Number one in wind is phenomenal. There’s some downsides to it for some of the people, but I think it’s something we should be proud of.”
Conservative climate activist: Iowa can be a leader
Benji Backer, the founder of the right-leaning American Conservation Coalition, said at the conference that Iowa’s approach to renewable energy is a model that can be emulated in other states by prioritizing new clean energy through economic incentives rather than mandates.
Backer argued the debate around climate change solutions and clean energy has been spoiled by "political culture wars," making it difficult for lawmakers to arrive at bipartisan solutions. He said conservatives interested in reducing carbon emissions should approach the issue with skeptical Republicans by talking about economic benefits and energy independence.
"We have so much more overlap on finding a common goal on this than we realize," he said. "The frustrating part is we can't get out of our own political culture wars to realize it. And our politicians could be passing important legislation, our companies could be taking great action, a lot of things could be happening that aren't."
Amid opposition to clean energy, Iowa conservative group pushes to expand production
Former Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who signed a 1983 law requiring utilities to produce a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources, said policymakers should be pursuing an
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