Davenport, IA - If "Going Green" is the wave of the future, consider Russell Construction ahead of the curve.  Russell Construction is proud to announce the accreditation of 20 LEED Professionals in the area of Building Design and Construction (LEED AP BD+C) by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Currently, 90% of Russell's project management staff is LEED AP BD+C accredited. Russell Construction currently has the most LEED AP BD+C Accredited Professionals in the entire state of Iowa.

Developed by the USGBC, the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program provides building owners/operators a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions into every project. LEED Accreditation serves to help companies and professionals improve the quality of construction and its impact on the environment. By passing an extensive LEED exam, individuals and their affiliated companies are able to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities in constructing an environmentally conscious project.

As an advocate of "Going Green", Russell Construction and our LEED AP BD+C professionals are dedicated to protecting construction project resources and locations. Currently, Russell is finishing up the new $13M First Army Headquarters, located on the Rock Island Arsenal (front lobby pictured left). In order to "Go Green" and have a minimal impact on the environment, an extensive waste management plan was implemented to reduce the amount of job-site waste generated.

This plan entailed the Russell project team to recycle an assortment of jobsite materials such as: carpet, metal, wood, glass, drywall, ceiling tile, paper, cardboard, concrete and other general waste materials. In total this project generated 1,123.237 tons of waste materials. However, 916.942 tons, or 81.63%, of construction waste was diverted from landfills for this project alone. First Army is scheduled to take possession of their new environmentally friendly facility in February 2011.

Russell's corporate office has also taken steps to "go green." All offices are equipped with occupancy sensors on all overhead lights and switches and an energy efficient HVAC unit. Internal recycling programs for office paper, bottles, pop cans, newspapers, computers, and unused job site materials, such as scrap wood or metal, are in place and enforced. In addition, digital imaging of project information into a main secure database has saved and estimated 15 cases per month of paper, which allows for additional storage space
and lower office supply costs.

At Russell, we are dedicated to LEED-ing the "Going Green" movement. For more information on Russell Construction, visit their corporate website at www.russellco.com.

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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson called Grassley this morning to say that a decision had been made to grant the waiver to vehicles going back to model year 2001.  This expands the agency's decision of last October, which applied the waiver to model year 2007 and newer vehicles.

"I've been frustrated with the amount of time it's taken the EPA to reach these decisions, and I'd still like to see a waiver for E15 use in all vehicles, but I also appreciate that the EPA Administrator has made certain to base the decisions on sound science, which puts the waiver decision in a very strong position against court challenges from opponents," Grassley said.

Grassley has been a leading advocate for increasing blends of ethanol in gasoline.  He's met personally with the EPA Administrator about the merits of the waiver request from a group of ethanol producers, and he's urged President Obama to take action to grant the waiver request.

Domestic ethanol producers have concluded that a complete waiver for E15 would reduce America's dependence on fossil fuels by replacing 7 billion gallons, or five percent, of fossil fuels with ethanol.  Replacing this much fossil fuel with ethanol would also create an estimated 136,000 jobs in the United States.

Grassley supported legislation passed by Congress in 2007, creating the Renewable Fuels Standard, which calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be used by 2022.

"It's important to expand opportunities for ethanol use to meet this goal and to help develop advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol.  These initiatives are aimed at greater energy independence for the United States and the savings and security that comes with energy independence, along with the opportunity to create jobs by expanding an important domestic industry," Grassley said.

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Contracts Will Create Green Jobs, Expand Use of Sustainable Energy

CHICAGO - December 22, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that long-term agreements have been executed to advance the state's ongoing efforts to expand renewable energy use, create green jobs and increase sustainability. The winning wind and solar energy vendors will supply Ameren and ComEd with renewable electricity to provide to consumers throughout the state. The 20-year agreements will help ensure long-term cost and rate stability for consumers across Illinois.

"Today's announcement means that we will be increasing our use of renewable energy in Illinois, which will boost our economy and put more people to work," said Governor Quinn. "Illinois is a leader in developing the green economy, and this support for renewable resources will keep us on the cutting-edge."

The long-term agreements will help Illinois meet the goals established in 2007 by the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS requires 25 percent of electricity provided to smaller customers by the state's major utilities to be generated from renewable resources by 2025, with incremental percentage increases each year leading up to 2025.

The Illinois Power Agency (IPA) administered the vendor bidding process. By guaranteeing a lower rate over a longer period of time, the long-term contracts allow providers to mitigate financial risk and pass the benefit of lower rates on to consumers.

"ComEd supports the Renewable Power Standards passed by the Illinois Legislature in 2007," said Anne Pramaggiore, President and Chief Operating Officer of ComEd. "With the modifications made last year, the standards have served the state well by integrating wind and renewable resources and protecting consumers by balancing the need for clean energy supply with the impact on rates."

"We congratulate Governor Pat Quinn for his leadership in making the development of renewable energy resources a priority of his administration," said Scott Cisel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameren Illinois. "Illinois' continued leadership has been reinforced by IPA Director Mark Pruitt and the Illinois Commerce Commission, who have assured a long-term future supply of renewable power at fair prices."

"Investing in renewable energy will provide long-term economic benefits by creating good-paying jobs and attracting development to our communities," said Michael T. Carrigan, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO.  "Wind and solar development are good for the environment, good for Illinois workers, and should be a part of the state's energy plan now and into the future."

The winning wind projects:

• Bishop Hill Energy
• Blackstone Wind Farm
• FPL Energy Illinois Wind
• Grand Ridge Energy
• Meadow Lake Wind Farm
• TianRun Shady Oaks
• New Harvest Wind Project

The winning solar projects:

• Invenergy Illinois Solar
• Rockford Solar Partners

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Floor Speech of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Home-Grown Ethanol

Delivered Thursday, December 2, 2010

 It seems like every few weeks or so that there are a lot of misleading and misinformed accusations launched at our nation's renewable fuels producers.  It's impossible to come to the Senate floor and respond to all of them, but sometimes the claims are so outrageous that they require an informed response. So, I'm here to give that response with emphasis upon the words informed.

Earlier this week, a number of my colleagues here in the Senate, including a few of my fellow Republicans, sent a letter to the majority and minority leaders expressing their opposition to extending the tax incentives for home-grown ethanol.  Home-grown means that we're less dependent upon people like Dictator Chavez and the oil sheiks.  My colleagues argued that the tax incentive for the production of clean home-grown ethanol is fiscally irresponsible.  They express their support for allowing the 45-cent-per-gallon credit for ethanol use to expire.  It's important to remember that the incentive exists to help the producers of ethanol compete with the big oil industry, and remember the big oil industry has been well supported by the federal treasury for more than a whole century.

Many of the Republican senators who signed on to that letter have also been leading the effort to ensure that no American sees their taxes go up on January 1, 2011, which will happen automatically if we don't do something this very month.  The largest tax increase in the history of the country can happen without even a vote of the Congress because of the sunsetting law.  And, of course, in that regard, I support the position of my Republican colleagues. But, a repeal of the ethanol tax incentive is a tax increase that will surely be passed on to the American consumer.

I'd like to remind my colleagues of a debate that we had earlier this year on an amendment offered by Senator Sanders.  The amendment that he offered would have, among other things, repealed the $35 billion in tax subsidies enjoyed by oil and gas.  Opponents of the Sanders amendment argued that repealing the oil and gas subsidies would reduce domestic energy production and drive up our dependence upon foreign oil.  Now, opponents to the Sanders amendment argued that it would cost U.S. jobs and increase prices at the pump for consumers. Now, I agreed with the arguments of the opponents.  All of my Republican colleagues and more than one-third of the Democrats did as well.  Thus, Senator Sanders' amendment was defeated.

That majority against the Sanders amendment knew that if you tax something, you get less of it. Repealing incentives on ethanol would have the very same result. Well, guess what?  I know that removing incentives for oil and gas will have the same impact as removing incentives for ethanol.  We'll get less domestically produced ethanol and be more dependent upon those oil sheiks.  But it will also cost U.S. jobs.  It will increase our dependence on foreign oil.  It will increase prices for American consumers.  So whether it's jobs or increased dependence or increasing the price of gas, no American would like that to be the result.

Madam President, we're already dependent on foreign sources for more than 60 percent of our oil needs.  We spend $730 million a day on imported oil.  That money is leaving America for the Middle East and nutty dictators like Chavez.

Why do my colleagues want to increase our foreign energy dependence when we can produce that energy right here at home?

So I'd like to ask my colleagues who voted against repealing oil and gas subsidies but support repealing incentives for renewable fuels, how do you reconcile such inconsistency?

The fact is, it's intellectually inconsistent to say that increasing taxes on ethanol is justified, but it's irresponsible to do so on oil and gas production.  If tax incentives lead to more domestic energy production and the result is good-paying jobs, why are only incentives for oil and gas important, but not for domestically produced renewable fuels?

It's even more ridiculous to claim that the 30 year-old ethanol industry is mature, and thus no longer needs the support that they get, while the century-old big oil industry still receives $35 billion in taxpayers' support.  Regardless, I don't believe we should be raising taxes on any type of energy production or on any individual, particularly during a recession.  Allowing the ethanol tax incentive to expire will raise taxes on producers, blenders and ultimately consumers of renewable fuel.

A lapse in the ethanol tax incentive is a gas tax increase of over five cents a gallon at the pump.  I just don't see the logic in arguing for a gas tax increase when we have so many Americans unemployed or underemployed and struggling just to get by.

On Tuesday this week, all of my Republican colleagues and I signed a letter to Majority Leader Reid stating that preventing a tax increase, meaning mostly income tax increases, and providing economic certainty, should be our top priority in the remaining days of this congress.  I know that we all agree that we cannot and should not allow job-killing tax hikes during a recession. Unfortunately, those members who have called for ending the ethanol incentive have directly contradicted this pledge because a lapse in the credit will raise taxes, costing over 100,000 U.S. jobs at a time of near 10 percent unemployment.  The taxpayer watchdog group, Americans for Tax Reform, considers the lapse of an existing tax credit for ethanol to be a tax hike.

Now is not the time to impose a gas tax hike on the American people.  Now is not the time to send pink slips to more than 100,000 ethanol-related jobs.

A year ago at this time, I came to the Senate floor to implore the democratic leadership to take action to extend expiring tax incentives for the biodiesel industry.  They failed in their responsibility to extend that incentive and provide support for an important renewable industry.   So, while 23,000 American jobs were supported on December 31 last year, nearly all those jobs have disappeared.  An industry with a capacity to produce more than two billion gallons of renewable fuel a year is on track to produce less than 20 percent of that capacity this year.

Ethanol currently accounts for 10 percent of our transportation fuel.  A study concluded that the ethanol industry contributed $8.4 billion to the federal treasury in 2009, $3.4 billion more than the ethanol incentive.  Today the industry supports 400,000 U.S. jobs.  That's why I support a home-grown renewable fuels industry, as I know the Obama administration does as well.  I would encourage anyone who is unclear on the administration's position to contact Agriculture Secretary Vilsack.

I'd like to conclude by asking my colleagues if we allow the tax incentive to lapse from where should we import an additional 10 percent petroleum?  Should we rely on Middle East oil sheiks or Hugo Chavez?

I would prefer to support a renewable fuel based right here at home rather than send it a pink slip. I would prefer to decrease our dependence on Hugo Chavez, not increase it, and I certainly don't want to support raising the tax on gasoline during recession.  I would respectfully ask my colleagues to reconsider their support for this job-killing gas tax increase.

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