As originally published in Medium.
At a time when so many people think Washington, D.C. is broken, and that gridlock means nothing is being accomplished, Iowa should be proud to have Senator Grassley fighting in the Senate. He is a tireless champion for the state’s interests, which include efforts to create a clean energy future.
Recently, CRES cited Senator Grassley as a 2016 Clean Energy Champion formally endorsed his re-election bid to the U.S. Senate in Iowa. Upon the endorsement, Grassley said:
“I work in the Senate fighting to develop all forms of homegrown, American-made clean energy. Iowa has unleashed the potential of wind power, which plays an important role in strengthening our economic and energy security. In fact, wind energy has supported 7,000 Iowa jobs, generated $16 million in lease payments and supplied more that 30% of in-state electricity last year. Those are real results that are helping Iowa farmers, creating jobs for future generations and leading us toward energy independence. I thank Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions for their endorsement and I look forward to continuing my work in the United States Senate fighting for Iowans.”
It’s clear that the wind energy industry wouldn’t exist as it does today without Senator Grassley’s early and consistent leadership to ensure that federal policies support the development of wind power. His authorship of bipartisan legislation to create the wind energy production tax credit has encouraged innovation to create good-paying local jobs, produce clean energy and strengthen U.S. energy independence. In fact, a recently announced $3.6 billion project to add 2,000 megawatts of wind generation in Iowa will be the largest economic project in state history.
Iowa’s leadership in renewable energy is attracting businesses that are committed to sustainable operations, such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google. Construction and operating jobs at wind facilities and other businesses mean good jobs in Iowa, now and for generations to come.
Senator Grassley has also worked hard to ensure that farmers can contribute to and benefit from a cleaner energy future. He is a leader in the Senate on behalf of biofuels that can replace fossil fuels and improve our environment. Senator Grassley recently helped spearhead a letter cosigned by 38 other Senators urging the EPA to increase the required volumes of renewable fuels that must be used under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) program.
Even when times are challenging in Washington, Senator Grassley gets things done for Iowa. He is working for good Iowa jobs and a clean energy future, and we need him to continue that fight.