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2019 Best Development Award Winners announced

1000 Friends of Iowa announces 13 winners, 9 categories, 5 jurors

1000 Friends of Iowa is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Best Development Awards. The awards program showcases projects that recognize connections between building and project development to quality of life. With a mission focused on responsible land use, 1000 Friends of Iowa promotes smart growth planning principles that help achieve socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable communities. Projects recognized this year are located in the following communities: Altoona, Belle Plaine, Coralville, Davenport, Dyersville, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Iowa City, Johnson County, Knoxville, Marshalltown, Readlyn, and Stanton.

Plaques will be presented to winning applicants at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at the Iowa State Capitol Building, First Floor Rotunda, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Register here.

The hard work of the 2019 Best Development Award winners is acknowledged today ahead of the presentation ceremony. The category, project name, and city are listed here, followed by a short description and local contact.

New Civic: Unitarian Universalist Society Church, Coralville Over 200 friends and members of the Society informed a zero energy, accessible building that shares parking spaces with neighboring lots; planned the entire site for preservation of natural woodland and stormwater management; solar and geothermal energy; sustainable construction materials and conservation-minded finishes and fixtures. Contact: publicity@uusic.org

Renovated Civic: Grinnell Central Park, Grinnell Gifted to the City in the last 1800’s, generations of citizens experienced Central Park. By modernizing and updating the park, the adjacent downtown has also seen new energy. With a healthy mix of funding sources, the history and culture of Grinnell are honored. Simultaneously, the site’s greenspace, stormwater management, and safety are also enhancing the park to be an asset that its citizens love to use. Contact: rbehrens@grinnelliowa.gov

Renovated Commercial: Textile Brewing Company, Dyersville Dyersville Industries took a vacant, blighted downtown “Sewing Factory” building, restored it, and converted it into a place for community. Using contents inside the building and preserving the original structure, history is acknowledged in the walls, decor, and furnishings. The business has caused a ripple effect in tourism, downtown traffic, and awareness of water quality. Contact: jrahe@dyersville.com

Innovative Leadership: Solarize Johnson County 2018 Many stakeholders executed an education and group-buy program for solar arrays in both urban and rural areas. Using mostly existing rooftops, the project adds 1.12 MW of solar energy to the County. Modeling after another city’s solar group buy, Solarize Johnson County’s is “paying it forward” by presenting their work to other audiences. Contact: greenteam@co.johnson.ia.us

Mixed Use (tie): Lee County Bank and Cattermole Library, Fort Madison Fort Madison’s Downtown Commercial Historic District included the Lee County Bank, built in 1893, and Cattermole Library, built in 1894. Both sat vacant for many years. Barker Companies rehabilitated and renovated the exterior and interior of both buildings, leading to a renewed downtown area. The two upper floors of the Bank were transformed into 14 apartments while the lower floor was left mostly unchanged. The Cattermole Library was also converted to apartments on its upper floor while the lower floor is offices, with the original library circulation desk as the reception desk. Now fully occupied, the buildings are inspiring other activity in the historic district. Contact: kylegalloway@barkercompanies.com

Mixed Use (tie): Mason Building Renovation, Stanton With significant community buy-in, the Mason Building (also called the Tarkio Masonic Lodge), fits 1000 Friends of Iowa’s smart growth principles very well for high quality of life. Using private and public funds, reusing an existing structure built in 1878, the space now houses an apartment and two commercial tenants. Owners of an additional 13 downtown buildings are now looking at uplifting their facades. Contact: mickeyanderson01@gmail.com

Renewable Energy: Knoxville Community School District, Knoxville With 11 of its 12 facilities installing solar systems, 92% of the District’s electricity is now supplied by solar energy. Financed with a power purchase agreement (with Red Lion Renewables, a previous Innovative Leadership winner), the district expects to save $8500 annually and reduce carbon emissions by 1,235 tons per year over the 30 year lifetime of the arrays. Additionally, live data sharing is available between arrays, and a tool is under development to use this data for student lessons. Contact: craig.mobley@kcsd.k12.ia.us

New Residential , Owner-Occupied: Prairie Hill Cohousing, Iowa City Built on an 8-acre infill, the Prairie Hill development supports alternative transportation with its location near downtown, the university, a bus stop, and businesses. Duplexes and 4-plexes were designed to shared walls and roofs to reduce the use of sustainable construction materials, solar panels, and labor costs. The site was planted for low-irrigation and no-mow space, with stormwater management practices installed. The development also supports many price points to make housing accessible and affordable. Contact: delholland@aol.com

New Residential, Multi-family Rental: Altoona Towers, Altoona The Altoona Towers were built for energy efficiency and include charging stations for electric cars, a bus stop, proximity to bicycle trails. Thoughtful consideration of building and site successfully show that landlords can make capital investments to keep tenant utility bills at a minimum, even if the tenant is not conservation-minded. By using energy efficient construction materials, appliances, window dressings, and lighting in rental housing, energy consumption can affordably be reduced to the benefit of the tenant and the landlord. Contact: keith@ppm-inc.com

Renovated Residential: Naval Station, Davenport Built in 1904, our Renovated Residential winner has seen many uses as a grade school, a naval training station, and storage facility. Today, it is an excellent example of an adaptive reuse of an historic building with an integrated stormwater management system. After sitting in disrepair as a blighted lot, the Naval Station was renovated and rehabilitated for mixed income senior homes. By addressing the entire site, neighborhood got an uplift from a number of funding sources to the infrastructure and the lot, as well as launching a domino effect in an historic area. The use of salvaged and sustainable construction materials, inclusion of alternative transportation, thoughtful landscaping, and interior work contributes to its positive environmental impact. Contact: chris@alespc.com

Stormwater Management, Private: Gallery Garden, Marshalltown The land for this project was vacant because of a building fire. It was privately developed into a unique, urban park space that addresses multiple stormwater issues for the area. The focal point is a gallery garden wall, which is irrigated by the stormwater. The resources on the site stay on the site, with the irrigation system, lighting, and cameras all powered by solar panels. With its shelter and seating, the Gallery Garden is a popular public location for viewing artwork and the garden features, events, photography, and more. Its signage educates users about the sustainable practices. Contact: bkh91753@gmail.com

Stormwater Management, Public: Readlyn Wetland, Readlyn Runoff from more than half of the City flows into this created wetland to reduce stormwater wetland, which benefits everyone downstream in the 95-acre watershed. The property for the wetland was purchased from a private landowner and future plans include a recreational walking trail. Moreover, a trailhead for the Rolling Prairie Trail is nearby and supports a high quality of life for residents. The Watershed Management Authority and the local school have been involved, including a grant awarded for students to install edgeland plants along the wetland in 2020. Contact: dcjblkw@yahoo.com

Urban Placemaking/Greenspace: Larry Schlue Memorial Sound Park, Belle Plaine After 5 years of collaboration across many sectors, the City of Belle Plaine converted an underused grassy lot with benches into a space that honors the railroad culture of the town, a man who was a champion for his community, and connects many users to downtown. The Sound Park builds off an earlier revitalization effort to support a thriving and walkable business district. Contact: director@bpcdc.net

Winners of the Best Development Awards are selected from a pool of applicants each year in up to twelve categories by a panel of jurors. This year’s jurors have a variety of backgrounds: Pat Boddy, Stewardship Director for RDG Planning and Design; Megan Down, Project Manager for Impact7G; Jeff Geerts, Special Projects Manager for Iowa Economic Development Authority; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager for the City of Sioux City, and Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture and Director of the Iowa State University Center for Building Energy Research.

1000 Friends of Iowa, founded in 1998, is a statewide nonprofit organization focused on land use education. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve the quality of life for future generations.

The Best Development Awards Program, founded in 2001, recognizes the organization’s mission in a tangible manner through awards in twelve categories.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

Six businesses join solar tour for state legislators

WHAT: 1000 Friends of Iowa will lead legislators and influencers through Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, and West Des Moines on a fact-finding tour of commercial properties with solar rooftops

WHO: Confirmed tourists are Sen. Claire Celsi (D-West Des Moines), Rep. John Forbes (D-Urbandale), Jake Ketzner (Iowa Conservative Energy Forum), Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-Windsor Heights). Rob Taylor (Iowa Conservative Energy Forum) will join starting at the press stop. Confirmed tour guides are Kari Carney (1000 Friends of Iowa), Patrick Snell (The Nature Conservancy, Solarize Waukee) and Allison Van Pelt (Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization). Solar installers will be present at three sites.

WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Each stop along the tour will last approximately 15 minutes

9:30 – 940 a.m. Medicap, 8170 Douglas Ave, Urbandale.

9:45 Group boards the van at Medicap

9:55 – 10:10 Stanbrough Realty, 10888 Hickman Rd, Clive

10:25 – 10:50 The Palms Theater, 200 NE Westgate Dr, Waukee.

10:55-11:05 Peoples Bank, 1185 SE University Ave, Waukee

11:20 – 11:35 Sun Prairie Apartments, 5901 Vista Dr, West Des Moines

11:45 – 12 travel Ultimate Car Wash, 104 14th St, West Des Moines

12:15 Return to individual vehicles at Medicap, 8170 Douglas Ave, Urbandale

WHY: Solar tax credits, net metering, and grid use fees were topics of debate in the 2019 legislative session. This tour was organized to educate lawmakers for the 2020 legislative session.

HOW: Media are welcome to capture images and video at each stop along the tour; interaction with the “tourists” will occur during the media stop at The Palms Theatre and IMAX. For interviews or additional information please contact Julia McGuire, 515-988-1828, awards@1000friendsofiowa.org.

Featured, Uncategorized

Climate Action at the local level – Using the Power of Community to Advance Sustainability

1000 Friends of Iowa believes in using the power of community to advance sustainability. Because of this, over the last 10 years we have been working at the community level to foster resident lead movements to help their communities advance action on climate climate change and sustainability goals.

We have worked with communities at different levels depending on what they want. In some communities we have helped them create a climate or sustainability committee, in others we have advised them on strategy and action, and others we have a more hands on role. In all cases, this has resulted in real action and real results.

This work has happened in both big and small, as well as urban and rural communities, across the state. From Indianola, IA to the City of Des Moines, Fairfield, Ames, and much more, these community-based teams have moved the needle on climate action and sustainability. We have also worked at the county level.

DES MOINES: The city of Des Moines adopted it’s first ever climate action plan called ADAPT DSM. On May 6, 2019, during a City Council work session, Eric Giddens of the University of Northern Iowa Center on Energy and Environmental Education discussed the results of a newly completed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for the city of Des Moines. Check it out here.

The city of Des Moines adopted the energy and water benchmarking ordinance at its June 3rd meeting. The much-watered down ordinance that was passed is not the end of it. The council will revisit the ordinance and a proposed change in August.

Later in the year, the city of Des Moines will be voting to approve an MOU with UNI’s Center for Energy and environmental Education to start the process of creating a citywide climate action plan! These efforts are being lead by the Des Moines Citizens Taskforce on Sustainability.

IOWA CITY: The city of Iowa City adopted a Climate Action plan in 2018. Check out their plan here. We appreciate the cities leadership in creating and adopting the plan. Now we must ensure the city implements to GHG reduction steps laid out in the plan. Stay tuned for how you can get involved.

AMES: The city has established key energy goals to reduce their green house gas emissions. In addition, the city is in the process of updating their greenhouse gas emissions inventory and creating a community solar garden. A community group – the Ames Climate Action Team – has formed to help push the city to do even more to address climate change.

1000 Friends of Iowa News, Action Alerts, Articles of Interest, Latest News

2018 Best Development Award Winners and Ceremony

CONTACT: Julia McGuire, Best Development Award Coordinator, 515-988-1828, awards@1000friendsofiowa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1000 FRIENDS OF IOWA ANNOUNCES 2018 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Celebrating Iowa’s ‘development heroes’ and recognizing smart growth principles across the state

Dec. 11, 2018 (Des Moines, Iowa) – 1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eight recipients of its Best Development Award for 2018. These recipients were chosen because they implement the efficient use of resources to develop sustainable communities and provide a high quality of life.

“These are our state’s ‘development heroes,’” according to Julia McGuire, Program Coordinator. The 2018 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, recipient, project, city):

  • In the Innovative Leadership category, the City of Storm Lake for building a sustainable community through food, youth service and education, flood control, and stormwater management in Storm Lake
  • In the Placemaking/Greenspace category, Primary Health Care’s East Side Clinic for its Healing Garden in Des Moines
  • In the Renewable Energy category, Stuff Etc. for its unique “solar plus storage” technology in Coralville
  • In the Renovated Civic – Small Community category, the Bricker-Price Block for the restoration of the Bricker-Price Block in Earlham
  • In the Renovated Civic – Large Community, the Davenport Community School District for its J.B. Young Opportunity Center in Davenport
  • In the Renovated Residential category, Professional Property Management for Sun Prairie Apartments in West Des Moines
  • In the Stormwater Management category, the City of Algona for its Downtown Green Parking Lot Infrastructure Renewal in Algona
  • In the Transportation/Complete Streets category, the City of Manning for its Trails Network in Manning

“The nominations for 2018 were very diverse. The jurors really appreciated the number of renovations that were nominated. There are so many great developments occurring in our state,” stated Kari Carney, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Iowa. “Iowa should celebrate the communities where thoughtful planning is happening. Hopefully other communities can replicate the successes of our 2018 category winners.”

The Best Development Awards winners are selected from a pool of nominations each year by an independent group of jurors. This year’s jurors were Pat Boddy, Senior Partner Emeritus at RDG Planning & Design; Jeff Geerts, Special Projects Manager with the Community Development Division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager of the City of Sioux City; Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University and Director of the Center for Building Energy Research, and Ryan Peterson, President of Impact7G.

An Award Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 2019, at 12 noon at the Capitol Rotunda. It is free and open to the public.

The Best Development Awards Program recognizes projects in up to 12 different categories as a way for 1000 Friends of Iowa to express the fact that smart land use and sustainable communities are more than constructed buildings. All of the award recipients help advance sustainability across our state by considering site design, outdoor and indoor environmental impact, public use, and long-term benefits.

Founded in 1998, 1000 Friends of Iowa is the only organization in the state focused solely on promoting responsible land use in community, state, and federal development decisions. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve quality of life for future generations.

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For more information about the Best Development Awards Program, please contact Julia McGuire at 515-988-1828 or email awards@1000friendsofiowa.org.

Uncategorized

2018 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Julia McGuire, Best Development Award Coordinator, 515-988-1828, awards@1000friendsofiowa.org

1000 FRIENDS OF IOWA ANNOUNCES 2018 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Celebrating Iowa’s ‘development heroes’ and recognizing smart growth principles across the state

Dec. 11, 2018 (Des Moines, Iowa) – 1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eight recipients of its Best Development Award for 2018. These recipients were chosen because they implement the efficient use of resources to develop sustainable communities and provide a high quality of life.

“These are our state’s ‘development heroes,’” according to Julia McGuire, Program Coordinator. The 2018 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, recipient, project, city):

  • In the Innovative Leadership category, the City of Storm Lake for building a sustainable community through food, youth service and education, flood control, and stormwater management in Storm Lake
  • In the Placemaking/Greenspace category, Primary Health Care’s East Side Clinic for its Healing Garden in Des Moines
  • In the Renewable Energy category, Stuff Etc. for its unique “solar plus storage” technology in Coralville
  • In the Renovated Civic – Small Community category, the Bricker-Price Block for the restoration of the Bricker-Price Block in Earlham
  • In the Renovated Civic – Large Community, the Davenport Community School District for its J.B. Young Opportunity Center in Davenport
  • In the Renovated Residential category, Professional Property Management for Sun Prairie Apartments in West Des Moines
  • In the Stormwater Management category, the City of Algona for its Downtown Green Parking Lot Infrastructure Renewal in Algona
  • In the Transportation/Complete Streets category, the City of Manning for its Trails Network in Manning

“The nominations for 2018 were very diverse. The jurors really appreciated the number of renovations that were nominated. There are so many great developments occurring in our state,” stated Kari Carney, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Iowa. “Iowa should celebrate the communities where thoughtful planning is happening. Hopefully other communities can replicate the successes of our 2018 category winners.”

The Best Development Award winners are selected from a pool of nominations each year by an independent group of jurors. This year’s jurors were Pat Boddy, Senior Partner Emeritus at RDG Planning & Design; Jeff Geerts, Special Projects Manager with the Community Development Division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager of the City of Sioux City; Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University and Director of the Center for Building Energy Research, and Ryan Peterson, President of Impact7G.

The Best Development Awards Program recognizes projects in up to 12 different categories as a way for 1000 Friends of Iowa to express the fact that smart land use and sustainable communities are more than constructed buildings. All of the award recipients help advance sustainability across our state by considering site design, outdoor and indoor environmental impact, public use, and long-term benefits.

Founded in 1998, 1000 Friends of Iowa is the only organization in the state focused solely on promoting responsible land use in community, state, and federal development decisions. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve quality of life for future generations.

For more information about the Best Development Awards Program, please contact Julia McGuire at 515-988-1828 or email awards@1000friendsofiowa.org.

Uncategorized

Mapping City Climate Action

In 2017, President Trump removed the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. In response, many local jurisdictions who often deal with the brunt of the weather related impacts of climate change stood up and declared that they were going to “stay in” the agreement.

1000 Friends of Iowa agrees and believes that we can have the greatest impact working locally for solutions that can add up to real impacts.

Analyses done by ARUP for the C40 Initiative concluded that cities are essential actors in reducing emissions and that the 758 US cities with populations of 50,000 or more can deliver about on third of the US Paris commitment. Cities can deliver emission reductions that are additive to those of nations and states, ARUP concludes, because they control land use, transportation systems, and the attributes of buildings.

They further conclude that there is a deadline. They conclude that cities have until 2020 to get on a pathway to achieving future deep emission reductions. In other words, city action is urgent but harder to get our hands around because it requires hundreds of individual policy and programmatic decisions. To succeed, we must be able to achieve change at scale. We need to work together to figure out how to do that.

About 150 of the 758 cities are in the Midwest. We already know that in general, the core city in each of the largest metro areas is taking some action – often with the help of nonprofits and foundations, such as, Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis, Cleveland. The ARUP analysis tells us that this is not enough.

We know that we need more of the communities across Iowa and the Midwest to take action. While we work with local communities in Iowa, we wanted to do analysis by identifying the status of clean energy, climate work, and sustainability efforts in these cities and to develop a plan of action for spurring all to action.

Partnering with organizations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan, 1000 Friends of Iowa just completed a comprehensive mapping project looking at whether or not cities with a population of 40,000 or more were currently addressing these issues and what they were doing if they were. In Iowa, there are 13 cities that met the criteria. Eleven of those cities participated in the mapping project.

Of the participating cities, five of them have completed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories and four have set GHG reduction goals. Three cities have established an energy plan, climate action plan or resiliency plan. Two other cities are in progress of developing a plan. Five Iowa Cities have energy efficiency goals and Nine of the eleven cities that responded are participating in a sustainability program.

From anecdotal data gathered, the two most important factors that seem to drive a cities success in their efforts to address climate change and become more sustainable were: 1. a supportive city council and Mayor and 2. a staff person who acted as the sustainability coordinator or director for the city. Click here to view an interactive map with the results and Click here to see the raw data results.

Action Alerts

Talking Points to Oppose SF 2311

Oppose Senate File 2311

This bill undermines Iowa’s clean energy leadership by effectively end utility energy efficiency programs, allowing new charges on solar customers, and removing consumer protections and oversight. This bill will increase energy costs, threaten nearly 21,000 solar and energy efficiency jobs, reduce consumer choice, and increase reliance on fossil fuels.

 

Iowa has some of the lowest energy rates in the Midwest and the country while at the same time developing one of the strongest clean energy economies. This bill undermines many of the policies that have led to Iowa’s cost-effective clean energy leadership.

 

Major Issues with SF 2311

 

Deregulation Without Competition

  • Iowa electric and gas utilities are monopolies. Consumers have no choice in their provider for electric or gas service. This bill deregulate utilities without providing for any competition.
  • The bill decreases consumer choice even further. The bill could scale back or even eliminate the few consumer choices available today, including energy efficiency and solar.

 

Undermining Iowa’s Leadership and Economic Benefits on Clean Energy

  • Solar jobs are a fast-growing sector of the economy and are present all over the state. This bill threatens every solar job in the state, over 700 in 2016.
  • There are solar installations in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties with rural Iowa leading on solar.
  • There were over 20,000 direct jobs in the energy efficiency sector in Iowa in 2016.[i] These jobs are threatened as the bill threatens to eliminate energy efficiency programs.
  • In 2016, Iowa was ranked as the third least expensive state overall for energy prices.”[ii] Iowa’s long-standing energy efficiency programs have helped keep energy costs low in Iowa.
  • Utility efficiency programs generate between $2 and $3 in benefits for every $1 invested.

Shifting Costs and Risks to Consumers

  • Reduces needed oversight on all utilities, including the rural electric cooperatives that already have the highest rates and fewest options for customers to manage energy bills.
  • Rolls back energy efficiency, which is a very low-cost resource. Energy efficiency benefits everyone and helps keep utility rates low and stable for all customers. Rolling back energy efficiency will increase costs to customers in the long run.
  • Eliminates oversight on expensive equipment to control emissions at coal plants and replaces with voluntary, pre-approval for passing costs to customers.

 

Attack on Energy Efficiency

  • Makes programs entirely optional for all customers, allowing them to ‘opt in’ every five years.
  • Minimum participation is 10% of customers, meaning that efficiency programs could see a 90% reduction in budgets and participation and satisfy the bill’s requirements.
  • Adds a particular cost-effectiveness test (total resource cost test) that will scale back energy efficiency options and result in less savings.
  • Even with the opt in, puts arbitrary limits on how much utilities spend on energy efficiency (either 1.5% for gas or 2% for electric of a customer’s billing).
  • Reduces or eliminates IUB oversight on rural electric cooperatives energy efficiency.
  • Eliminates IUB reporting on efficiency to the General Assembly, reducing accountability.

 

Attack on Renewable Energy

  • The bills allow utilities to discriminate against solar customers and charge them separate and higher rates.
  • The bills could lead to massive increases in rates to solar customers effectively shutting down the solar industry in Iowa.
  • Exempts rural electric cooperatives from Iowa’s policy to encourage renewable energy (476.41).

 

Attack on Consumer Protection and Consumer Choice

  • Exempts electric coops from rules on customer deposits, meaning there would be no limits on the charges for new customers to get connected or re-connected.
  • Limits or could even eliminate customer options for adding solar or implementing energy efficiency in a home or business.
  • Removes or restricts IUB oversight on a wide range of critical issues, including energy efficiency, coal plant emissions controls, consumer protections, and rural electric coops and municipal utilities.

 

Bill Process

 

SSB 3093 was the original bill number. The bill was amended and passed the Senate Commerce Committee with an 8-7 vote (1 R, 6 Ds voted no, 8 Rs voted yes). After committee passage, the bill number was changed to SF 2311. This bill contains several sections that will roll back energy efficiency programs. Sec. 9 in particular of the bill will decimate the programs and savings.

 

Sec. 17 allows utilities to discriminate against solar customers. (The committee did amend the bill by removing the subsection in Sec. 15 on revenue neutral tariffs.) However, much of the bill was not changed, so concerns discussed above remain.

 

More amendments are expected during floor debate in the Senate, including an amendment to show efficiency costs on customers’ bills.

 

[1] Clean Energy Trust, Clean Jobs Midwest: Iowa (2017) at https://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/state/iowa.

[1] Iowa Energy Plan (2016) at 4. Available at http://iowaenergyplan.org/.

[i] Clean Energy Trust, Clean Jobs Midwest: Iowa (2017) at https://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/state/iowa.

[ii] Iowa Energy Plan (2016) at 4. Available at http://iowaenergyplan.org/.

These talking points were put together by our friends at the Iowa Environmental Council.

1000 Friends of Iowa News, Action Alerts, Articles of Interest, Featured, Latest News

Help Save Energy Efficiency.

Updated:

Right  now, making it’s way through the Iowa State House is a horrible bill  – Senate File (SF) 2311 (formerly SSB 3093). The bill has passed out of committees in both houses and was passed out of the full senate.  The bill is now awaiting debate in the full house. This bill has sweeping changes that decimates energy efficiency programs, potentially losing over 80% of the current funds, it essentially deregulates utilities in Iowa, leaving all utility customers vulnerable to soaring prices and the whims of the utility companies, and it makes it easier for gas pipelines to be built in Iowa.

If enacted, Senate File (SF) 2311 (formerly SSB 3093), which is being championed by Iowa’s investor owned utilities, would:
  • Effectively deregulate Iowa’s energy utilities;
  • Slash energy efficiency programs, potentially by up to 80% or more;
  • Make it easier for gas pipelines to build in Iowa.
  • And though the bad solar provisions were removed, there is still an effort to put them back into the bill which if added back in, could essentially kill rooftop and community solar by allowing utility companies to discriminate against solar customers.
So what does that mean for you? It means:
This bill is bad for Iowans. Energy efficiency is a key factor that keeps utility rates low in Iowa. If passed,  utility rates will go up. Low income people will lose out on energy efficiency and weatherization programs  programs and utility companies can build unnecessary fossils fuel generation plants and charge all of their customers to foot the bill.
We could see a potential loss of over 20,000 jobs in the energy efficiency sectors and and a loss of over $200,000,000 that would have been savings for utility customers.
If you are asking what we can do about it, keep reading!

Talking points for the overall bill:  Click here.

Energy Efficiency Fact Sheet: Click here.

Another bad bill that is now making it’s way through the senate is SSB 3078. This bill proposes to eliminate all energy efficiency programs. It is on the Ways and Means subcommittee schedule for Monday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. The subcommittee is made up of Senator Fenestra, Senator Hogg, and Senator R.Schmidt. Please contact all three of them and ask them to oppose SSB 3078.  Click here to find their contact info.

Latest News

Celebrate smart development

1000 Friends of Iowa is pleased to celebrate the winners of the 2017 Best Development Awards. The Awards Program showcases projects that exemplify the connections between building, land, and natural resource development and quality of life. With a mission focused on responsible land use, 1000 Friends of Iowa promotes smart growth planning principles that help achieve socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable communities. The public is invited to recognize our award recipients with us.

The projects recognized in this year’s awards are located in the following cities: Charles City, Clive, Denison, Des Moines, Dubuque, Glidden, Marshalltown, Muscatine, Norwalk, Sioux City, Waterloo. Find details on the award-winning projects at https://1000friendsofiowa.org/2017-best-development-award-winners/

What:                             2017 Best Development Awards Ceremony

When:                            January 16, 2018, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Where:                           Iowa State Capitol Building, 1st Floor Rotunda

1000 Friends of Iowa News

2017 Best Development Award Winners

1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eleven recipients as its Best Development Award winners of 2017. Five independent jurors from across the state selected projects that implement the efficient use of our resources to develop sustainable communities that provide a high quality of life.

The 2017 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, winner, project, city, link). For more information about each project, click the link.

  • In the Innovative Leadership category, the City of Clive for the Walnut Creek and Clive Greenbelt initiatives in Clive <link>
  • In the Mixed Use category, Blackbird Investments for the Wilkins Building in Des Moines <link>
  • In the New Residential category, KCL Engineering for the Parkside Residential Development in Charles City <link>
  • In the Placemaking/Greenspace category, the City of Glidden for the Albert Kruger, Sr. Shelter in Glidden <link>
  • In the Renewable Energy category, St. John the Apostle Catholic Church and Red Lion Renewables for the Solar Array in Norwalk <link>
  • In the Renovated Civic category, the City of Sioux City for the Sioux City Promenade in Sioux City <link>
  • In the Renovated Commercial category, SingleSpeed Brewing Co. for the Wonder Bread Building in Waterloo <link>
  • Renovated Residential category, Downtown Leases and Lofts for the Kibbey Building in Marshalltown <link>
  • In the Stormwater Management category, City of Denison for the 14th Street Parking Lot in Denison <link>
  • In the Transportation/Complete Streets category, the City of Muscatine for the Kent Stein Park to Deep Lakes Park Trail in Muscatine <link>
  • In a special Jurors’ Choice category, the City of Dubuque for its long-term, big-vision cross-cutting activities. <link>

The press and public are invited to celebrate these “development heroes” at an Award Ceremony, to be held at the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at 11:45 a.m.

People United for Responsible Land Use