IFU Legislative Alert: Support Locally Owned Energy!
By the IFU

By the way, I've added some new content. The delegate tracker, courtesy of MSNBC (which, as a caveat, has been the most generous towards Obama of all the networks out there).

We enourage our membership to contact their legislators to remind them that Locally Owned Renewable Energy needs to be supported this session. IFU has policy in place that calls for renewable energy facilities owned by farmers.  We need to cut down barriers farmers encounter when they attempt to invest in renewable energy facilities. Farmers need to be able to invest in an Iowa rural resource. The renewable energy business is not the sole domain of the state's largest utilities and biofuel companies. Ask your legislator to work on policy for residential and comercial facilities owned by farmers. Two of the best current opportunities are below:
 
SF 355,  C-BED , Policy modeled after Minnesota's successful law to encourage locally owned energy
 
A handout prepared by I-RENEW is attached.

SF 2070, RENEWABLE ENERGY PURCHASES & FACILITIES.
Increases the percentage for utility purchase from alternative energy facilities to 14% by 2014, 20% by 2020 & 25% by 2025. Allows excess amounts to be resold. Establishes specific production requirements for different alternative sources (350 megawatts must be from community-owned renewable energy sources by 2014, 500 megawatts by 2020 and 625 megawatts by 2025; 80 megawatts from a sustainable, closed-loop biomass facility by 2014; 20 megawatts from methane gas recovery and 5 megawatts from a solar energy). Makes the biomass, methane and solar facilities for renewable tax credits.

For more information on these items, contact IFU board member and energy lobbyist Gregg Heide at 712 468 2815 or email him at gheide@evertek.net. For information on other IFU legislative activity, call lobbyist Judie Hoffman at 515 292 2660 or email judiehoffman@yahoo.com.

Iowa Farmers Union
PO Box 8988
528 Billy Sunday Rd
Ames, IA  50014
800-775-5227
iafu@isunet.net
www.iafu.org