DES MOINES, IOWA (December 30, 2022) — The Iowa Environmental Council is excited to launch our newest resource, the Iowa Energy and Infrastructure Funding Hub. This website has been months in the making and will assist businesses, non-profits, communities, and individual Iowans with finding information about the programs and incentives newly available to gain access to affordable, clean energy, lower energy costs, and make homes safer and more comfortable. We are celebrating this launch as the next phase of a process that was already a long time coming. The site covers programs passed through both the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This is not a short-term investment in transformation, but a decade-long directional shift that will drive innovation, markets, and improve our air, water, and quality of life as we invest in what is needed to move forward on a real path toward tackling the climate crisis. That transition must include not only quickly ramping down climate pollution in favor of cleaner alternatives, but buffering people and communities from the risks that come with a quick transition.
The IRA was intended to be transformational. Change is hard, but it is essential at this moment. We must transition our electric sector away from fossil fuels by 2035 to enable other sectors like buildings and transportation to get to net-zero by 2050 and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Iowa is already a national leader in wind energy; and more wind and a growing solar presence will mean more changes for local communities — some such as increased tax revenues, lease payments, and jobs — universally viewed as positive. Others, like changes to the expected landscape and competition for land use, present challenges that require respectful discussion and compromise. All Iowans must be part of this conversation.
