DesMoinesDem is a suburban mom writing about Iowa politics and encouraging community discussion to hold public officials more accountable.  In her “Iowa faith leaders call for action to limit climate change” blog this week, DesMoinesDem discusses 56 religious leaders having signed an appeal for Iowans to take actions to limit global climate change and prepare for the consequences of the damage to the global climate that has already been done:

“The faith leaders mention a recent warning to Iowa legislators from 44 scientists representing 28 Iowa colleges and universities. Unfortunately, even when Democrats controlled the state House and Senate, lawmakers did almost nothing to implement the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council’s recommendations.

. . . On a related note, the 2011 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll indicated that 68 percent of Iowa farmers believe climate change is happening, 5 percent do not believe it is happening, and 28 percent are not sure. About 45 percent of that survey’s respondents said human activities are partly or mostly responsible for changing climate patterns.”

The Scoop:  DesMoinesDem’s post discusses how faith leaders are speaking out in Iowa about climate change and calling for solutions-oriented actions by Iowa’s political leaders, who are not yet stepping up.  Thanks DesMoinesDem for your post and your call to action directed to state legislators.

Read the whole story here: http://www.bleedingheartland.com/diary/5458/iowa-faith-leaders-call-for-action-to-limit-climate-change

The Gazette in Cedar Rapids examines this potential and speaks with the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Steve Falck.

” One way to help would be for the state to lead in the use of solar and wind energy, said Steve Falck, a former northeast Iowa legislator who’s now with the Iowa Environmental Law and Policy Center. “

Read the story.

Cooper:  Example of 4 Southern States Proves That “Robbing” Ratepayers Before Power is Produced Leads to More Expensive Reactors, Higher Than Necessary Rates for Consumers

DES MOINES, IA  – A leading U.S. expert on nuclear reactor financing is warning that a bill pending in the Iowa Senate to allow MidAmerican to charge in advance for the construction of new nuclear reactors could lead to significantly more expensive utility bills for state consumers, up to $70 higher a month  ($840 per year).

Analyst Mark Cooper shows how the examples of four Southeastern U.S. states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia – have led to major harms to consumers when “early cost recovery” or “construction work in progress” (CWIP) is used to finance nuclear reactors.   If the Iowa Senate measure becomes law, Iowa would become only the fifth state in the U.S. to impose such confiscatory, anti-consumer special interest legislation at the request of the nuclear power industry.

Cooper’s analysis concurs with the Staff of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB), which examined the controversial nuclear financing scheme before the state legislature (HF561), and concluded that it poses a serious threat to Iowa ratepayers. The Cooper report notes: “In addition to the dismal economics of nuclear power, the primary reason that the practice is limited to a very few states is that advanced cost recovery is fundamentally flawed, placing ratepayers at extraordinary risk for an excessive and unnecessary cost burden that runs into the billions of dollars. The staff of the IUB has raised a number of concerns about the advanced cost recovery legislation now stalled in the Senate that reflect the long-standing and well-documented concerns of ratepayer and consumer advocates.”

Mark Cooper is senior fellow for economic analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School, and author of “Policy Challenges of Nuclear Reactor Construction, Cost Escalation and Crowding Out Alternatives” (2009).

Commenting on his report, Cooper said: “Past experience and current developments in the few Southeastern U.S. states that have allowed advanced cost recovery for nuclear reactors indicate that removing consumer protections will impose significant costs on Iowa ratepayers and expose them to extraordinarily dangerous risks. The push for early cost recovery for construction of nuclear reactors in Iowa and elsewhere is driven by one basic truth about new nuclear reactors: They are totally uneconomic. The markets won’t touch these projects so the industry’s only alternative is to enlist state lawmakers to leave consumers holding the bag.”

Steven Falck, senior policy advocate, Environmental Law & Policy Center (Des Moines, IA), said: “If this bill passes, Iowans would see massive rate hikes while being stripped of key protections that have served us well. As the IUB staff pointed out, ‘HF 561 would shift nearly all of the construction, licensing, and permitting risk associated with one or more nuclear plants from the company to its customers.’ The ratepayers would be stuck paying for the most expensive power generation and would assume 100 percent of the risk associated with unproven, uncertified, modular nuclear technology.”

The Cooper report notes: “In the four states in the Southeast where funds are being collected from ratepayers under new advanced cost recovery for nuclear reactor construction in the Southeast, each individual nuclear reactor project costs $15 to $20 billion. Over $4 billion has already been approved for advanced cost recovery, yet it appears increasingly unlikely that the most of reactors will ever be built. Ratepayers will have paid billions but received nothing for their money. If reactor construction moves forward as proposed, almost $85 billion of construction costs will move into the utility rate-base causing rapid increases in typical consumer bills within a decade. Less costly, more consumer and environment friendly alternatives will be crowded out of the resource mix.”

The Cooper report also points out:

• New nuclear reactors cannot compete with a large number of alternatives resources that are widely available to meet consumer needs for electricity.
• They are so risky, they cannot raise capital in normal financial markets.
• In order to build new nuclear reactors, the utilities are demanding the suspension of the regulatory rules and financial market mechanisms that protect ratepayers and balance the interests of consumers and utility shareholders.

South Dakota Wind Energy Association Executive Director Steve Wegman told the South Dakota Argus Leader that wind energy has poured more than $2 billion into the state since 2002.

ELPC’s Sioux Falls-based Policy Advocate Matt McLarty said, “If we want developers to invest billions of dollars in wind farms and create thousands of new jobs here, the federal government must create a stable, predictable tax climate that encourages long-term investment.”

Read the article in the Argus Leader.

New! Check out our Wisconsin Google Map showing the wind industry supply chain in your neighborhood! WindSolar This ELPC report finds that Wisconsin is home to more than 250 wind and solar supply chain businesses that are tied to more than 12,000 Wisconsin jobs. Old-line manufacturing companies are re-tooling to supply growing markets for clean energy equipment. July 2011 Illinois

New! Check out our Illinois Google Map showing the wind industry supply chain in your neighborhood! WindSolarGeothermal This ELPC report finds that over 300 Illinois companies are working in the wind, solar or geothermal energy industries and employing over 18,000 people in the state. From old-line steel fabricators to high-tech start-ups, renewable energy is powering job growth and launching Illinois to the forefront of the green economy. April 2011 Michigan

New! Check out our Michigan Google Map showing the wind industry supply chain in your neighborhood! WindSolar This ELPC report finds there are 121 Michigan businesses working in solar energy and 120 companies involved in wind power. From old-line manufacturing  companies retooling for this growing market to high tech R&D, renewable energy is driving business growth in Michigan.  Solar and Wind power provide over 10,000 jobs in Michigan.  The state ranks fourth in the nation for number of jobs in the solar industry and first in the nation for clean energy patents.Listen: ELPC Briefing January 2011 Ohio

New! Check out our Ohio Google Map showing the wind industry supply chain in your neighborhood! WindSolar This ELPC report finds that 106 Ohio companies are doing business with the wind power industry and 63 Ohio companies are part of the solar energy supply chain. Ohio’s strong manufacturing base and skilled workforce, together with supportive policies and smart investments have helped make Ohio a center for clean energy manufacturing. From major companies like First Solar and Cardinal Fastener to over 100 small manufacturers, developers and service firms; clean energy means business for Ohio.Coverage: Columbus DispatchCoverage: Toledo Blade
November 2010 Iowa

New! Check out our Iowa Google Map showing the wind industry supply chain in your neighborhood! Wind This ELPC report finds that Iowa’s wind power supply chain comprises 80 Iowa companies with a total of over 2,300 employees in manufacturing alone.  The state ranks second nationally in total wind energy generation. With local manufacturers building everything from huge turbine blades to small electrical components, and service firms providing maintenance, legal, marketing and other support to the industry, wind power means business for Iowa.The report states that a commitment to business development combined with tax incentives, a skilled workforce and a central location have helped make Iowa a leader in the wind industry.Listen: ELPC BriefingCoverage: Cedar Rapids Gazette
November 2010 Illinois Wind This ELPC report finds that more than 100 Illinois companies with a total of over 15,000 employees. These companies range from old-line manufacturers who are retooling to build wind turbine components for the new clean energy economy to corporate headquarters for major wind power developers, to software, financial and support services.Listen: ELPC’s BriefingCoverage: Chicago Sun Times
]]> http://elpc.org/2011/07/31/supplychainreports/feed 7 http://elpc.org/2010/06/07/new-interconnection-standards-clear-the-way-for-clean-energy-in-iowa http://elpc.org/2010/06/07/new-interconnection-standards-clear-the-way-for-clean-energy-in-iowa#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:59:30 +0000 Kcoleman http://elpc.org/2010/06/07/new-interconnection-standards-clear-the-way-for-clean-energy-in-iowa The Iowa Utilities Board has issued final standards for interconnection of wind, solar and other forms of clean energy to the Iowa electric grid. These rules are the culmination of years of advocacy by the Environmental Law & Policy Center and a coalition of clean energy business, agricultural and environmental groups.

Interconnection is the process of linking clean distributed wind power and solar energy sources of electric generation to the grid. The new standards create a clear process for Iowa citizens and utilities to bring their clean energy sources online with standard forms, affordable fees and reasonable insurance requirements.  Iowa previously had loose interconnection guidelines that resulted in a complicated patchwork of rules.

The new Iowa standards are built on a model by ELPC in Illinois and South Dakota. The goal is to “facilitate the addition of distributed generation” to the electric distribution system.  The rules minimize burdensome insurance requirements and application fees for small systems, and they include standard forms and contracts to streamline and provide transparency to the process.

The Iowa Utilities Board’s Final Order which includes the final interconnection rules, forms and standard agreements is available here: https://efs.iowa.gov/efiling/groups/external/documents/docket/041781.pdf

The Iowa Utilities Board Staff Memo describes the process: https://efs.iowa.gov/efiling/groups/external/documents/docket/041952.pdf

Several of the groups submitted analyses that showed how Iowa will benefit from clean energy legislation through job growth and income in manufacturing, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Others showed that the moderate costs of the bill are miniscule compared to the threat of global climate change.

As ELPC Senior Attorney Rob Kelter said, “There is so much more at stake here than minor changes in electric rates. Clean energy can be a major driver of economic growth in Iowa, but we have to stand up to the utilities to make it happen.”

Read more at Iowapolitics.com