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Iowa

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State Planning and Incentive Structures | Energy Efficiency Actions | Energy Supply Actions

State Planning and Incentive Structures

Lead By Example—Energy Efficiency in Public Facilities

Status: Completed

Details: On February 21, 2008, Iowa’s Governor signed Executive Order Six, which establishes a “green government” initiative in the state. The order established the Energy Excellent Buildings Task Force and tasked it with reducing electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water use in all state office buildings by at least 15% by 2013.
Iowa state officials rolled out a new energy-independence plan on December 14, 2007, that requires all existing state-owned buildings to have energy audits and implement energy efficiency retrofits to serve as effective energy management models for the private sector. In addition, the plan requires all new state buildings to meet or exceed high energy efficiency performance standards.

Lead By Example—Energy Efficient Appliance and Equipment Purchase Requirements for Public Facilities

Status: Completed

Details: Executive Order 41 (2005) directs state agencies to purchase equipment with the lowest life-cycle cost, effectively requiring purchases of efficient equipment when cost-effective.

Lead By Example—Clean Energy Goals for Public Facilities

Status: Completed

Details: Executive Order 41 (2005) directs state agencies to have at least 10% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The agencies may generate their own renewable energy or may participate in an existing utility's green-power program. All state agencies are required to submit quarterly updates on their progress toward meeting the goals of this policy.

Lead By Example—Energy Efficiency and Alternative Fuel Goals for Public Fleets

Status: Completed

Details: On February 21, 2008, Iowa’s Governor signed Executive Order Six, which establishes a “green government” initiative in the state. The order established the Biofuels Task Force, which will focus on increasing the use of biofuels by state agencies and increasing the fuel efficiency of the state vehicle fleet.

State and Regional Energy Planning

Status: Completed

Details: Iowa state officials rolled out a new energy-independence plan on December 14, 2007, that calls for new automobile emissions standards for new cars sold in Iowa (similar to California’s standards), new renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements for utilities, and a bigger focus on renewable fuels. The Office of Energy Independence (OEI) proposals need the approval of the Iowa Legislature before they take effect. This state is also a member of Powering the Plains (PTP), which aims to create an integrated energy strategy that builds on the region's comparative advantages. PTP focuses on (1) renewable energy development; (2) hydrogen production from renewable and carbon-neutral sources; (3) environmental credit trading; (4) carbon sequestration; and (5) coal gasification with carbon capture and geologic sequestration. The states have resolved to create scenarios for reducing GHG emissions 80% by 2050, but have yet to set specific energy goals. On May 23, 2007, Iowa Governor Culver signed HF 918, which established the OEI, to coordinate state activities concerning energy independence, including developing an Iowa energy independence plan by December 14, 2007, and by December 14 annually thereafter. The IA Department of Natural Resources published a comprehensive energy plan in 2002, the result of a task force appointed by the Governor. The task force included representatives from local government, transportation, business, and academia. It provided a report on the state's energy consumption, along with progress in improving energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy use in the state. The task force recommended actions such as enhancing energy efficiency in all areas of energy production and use, establishing a uniform energy efficiency program for all customers, initiating an energy conservation program that would work to change energy use habits, requiring the state to lead by example, and others. Every two years, the IA DNR produces an update on the status of the plan's goals.

Determining the Air Quality Benefits of Clean Energy—Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy Set Asides (NOX Budget Trading Program)

Status: No Activity Identified

Determining the Air Quality Benefits of Clean Energy—Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy Set Asides (CAIR Budget Trading Program)

Status: No Activity Identified

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Energy Efficiency Actions

Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards

Status: Proposed

Details: On May 6, 2008, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signed S.F. 2386, which requires consumer-owned electric utilities in the state to establish energy efficiency goals and the programs that will enable them to meet those goals. The goals are optional; the bill requires utility companies to report back to the state on their progress in achieving energy efficiency.
Governor Chet Culver issued a three-point plan on February 25, 2008, that he said would improve Iowa’s energy efficiency and use of renewable fuels. The plan tasked the Iowa Utilities Board with setting an annual goal of a 1.5% improvement in demand-side energy efficiency.
On January 2, 2008, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) released a report to the Iowa General Assembly entitled, The Status of Energy Efficiency Programs in Iowa. The report includes an assessment of 2006 energy savings and cost effectiveness results achieved by the state’s utility-funded programs, as well as a survey of consumer energy efficiency awareness. The IUB will direct the state’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to analyze the feasibility of increasing annual incremental energy savings to 1.5% retail sales by 2012. Iowa state officials rolled out a new energy-independence plan on December 14, 2007, that calls for new renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements for utilities. The proposals, from Governor Chet Culver's new Office of Energy Independence (OEI), need the approval of the Iowa Legislature before they take effect. On November 15, 2007, Iowa signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, committing to an overall 2% reduction in energy use by 2015.

Public Benefit Funds for Energy Efficiency

Status: No Activity Identified

Building Codes for Energy Efficiency—Commercial Programs

Status: Goes Beyond ECPA

Details: 2006 IECC referencing ASHRAE, mandatory statewide. Jurisdictions can adopt a more stringent code; can use COMcheck-EZ to compliance.

Building Codes for Energy Efficiency—Residential Programs

Status: Goes Beyond ECPA

Details: 2006 IECC, mandatory statewide; went into effect January 1, 2007; can use REScheck to show compliance.

State Appliance Efficiency Standards

Status: No Activity Identified

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Energy Supply Actions

Renewable Portfolio Standards

Status: Completed/Further Work Proposed

Details: Governor Chet Culver issued a three-point plan on February 25, 2008, that he said would improve Iowa’s energy efficiency and use of renewable fuels. The plan set a goal that 25% of energy consumption (for homes, businesses, and vehicles) would come from renewable sources by 2025.
Iowa state officials rolled out a new energy-independence plan on December 14, 2007, that calls for new renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements for utilities. The proposals, from Governor Chet Culver's new Office of Energy Independence (OEI), need the approval of the Iowa Legislature before they take effect.
On November 15, 2007, Iowa signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, committing to a region-wide 10% renewable energy standard by 2015.
In March 2007, SF 241 was introduced to require a 10% RPS for retail electric sales by December 31, 2010, 15% by 2015, and 20% by 2020. Current state legislation requires investor-owned utilities to together obtain 105 MW of energy from renewable sources.

Public Benefit Funds for Clean Energy Supply

Status: No Activity Identified

Output-Based Environmental Regulations

Status: No Activity Identified

Interconnection Standards—Clean Distributed Generation

Status: In Progress

Details: There are no uniform interconnection standards currently in place for either small renewables or larger distributed generation, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has established a process to establish such standards. DNR released "A Guide to Interconnection" in 2004 that outlines plans. Through docket NOI-06-4 (April 2007), the IUB issued a preliminary interconnection model.

Interconnection Standards—Net Metering

Status: Completed

Details: Statewide net metering for certain utility types. The Iowa Utilities Board created Iowa's net metering rule in 1983. It allows for commercial, industrial, and residential systems up to 500kW; eligible technologies include photovoltaics, wind, biomass, hydro, and municipal solid waste.

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