Three scientists will discuss the future of solar energy in Iowa at a forum organized by State Rep. Chuck Isenhart. David Osterberg will elaborate on the 2023 “Iowa Climate Statement,” tendered in October by 200 science faculty members from 36 colleges and universities across Iowa. The event will be 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 29, in Room 105 of the University […]
Three scientists will discuss the future of solar energy in Iowa at a forum organized by State Rep. Chuck Isenhart. David Osterberg will elaborate on the 2023 “Iowa Climate Statement,” tendered in October by 200 science faculty members from 36 colleges and universities across Iowa.
The event will be 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 29, in Room 105 of the University of Dubuque Science Center.
The statement – “Time to Tap Iowa’s Vast Solar Energy Resources” – was signed by Adam Hoffman and Dale Easley, faculty members in the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at the university.
A former candidate for U.S. Senate, Osterberg is clinical professor of occupational and environmental health at the University of Iowa and served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995. Easley and Hoffman will be part of a panel discussion.
Isenhart, a member of the Economic Growth and Agriculture Committees in the House of Representatives, will moderate and discuss the current status of solar energy initiatives in Iowa.
During November 15- 16th, Isenhart participated in a U.S. Department of Energy summit in Washington DC, hosted by the National Climate Emergency and Energy Security Task Force of Elected Officials to Protect America. EOPA is led by military veterans who assert that climate change endangers national security.
“Major national investments are being made through state and local governments, as well as non-profit organizations, to change the trajectory of climate change and its impacts,” Isenhart observed.
“Taking advantage of the programs funded through the Inflation Reduction Act can be a challenge for eligible applicants,” he continued. “My goal is to help entities in Dubuque and Iowa so no opportunity is missed. This includes the unique potential in Iowa for agri-solar projects that allow for the production of both food and energy on agricultural land.”
Legislation that Isenhart has advanced – House File 70<https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/90/HF70.pdf> – would incentivize such projects. “A site visit I made in 2022 to the Agrivoltaic Learning Center and Jack’s Solar Garden in Colorado – which I will highlight at the forum — persuaded me that northeast Iowa is especially ripe to create joint food and energy systems,” he said.
Isenhart will also present information on a “Solar for All” plan being developed by the Iowa Economic Development Authority to access a portion of the $7 billion made available to states through the Environmental Protection Agency.
The climate statement can be found at https://ehsrc.public-health.uiowa.edu/2023-iowa-climate-statement.
