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Iowa Approves $100M to Fund Renewable Energy Research and Adoption
The 2007 Iowa state legislative session has looked very favorably on TBED. One of the centerpieces of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver’s campaign last year was his pledge to "develop the next-generation energy ecomony in Iowa" through a $100 million state fund (see the Feb. 19, 2007 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest). The Iowa Power Fund was approved by the state’s General Assembly late last month and closely resembles Gov. Culver’s original plan. For the first year, the fund will be capitalized with an initial $25 million from the state and an additional $25 million annually over the next three years.
The authorizing legislation also calls for the creation of a board to oversee the distribution of the funds and a new Office of Energy Independence. The board is authorized to make grants and loans that will accelerate in-state R&D and knowledge transfer and will improve the economic competitiveness of the state’s renewable energy industry. Iowa’s Office of Energy Independence will coordinate all state efforts to promote the use of renewable energy sources and to lead the development of a strong biofuels industry.
The General Assembly also approved a Targeted Industries Development Fund to be overseen by Iowa’s Department of Economic Development. The $3 million fund will support several new programs that will promote the commercialization of new technologies in the advanced manufacturing, bioscience and information technology industries. Businesses within these industries will be eligible to receive financial and technical assistance for commercialization projects, training for jobs that require advanced skills, and an internship program for Iowa college students.
In late February, Gov. Culver signed SF 162, an act that lifted the state’s five-year ban on the cloning of human embryos for stem cell research. Culver expects the bill to encourage biomedical research at the Iowa’s universities. The legislation is available at: http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=BillInfo&Service=Billbook&ga=82&hbill=SF162