MidAmerican Energy Trying To Squash Solar Energy Options
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) – MidAmerican Energy proudly notes its status as a national leader in wind power.
That’s why some find it jarring to learn the Des Moines-based company is pushing for new rules that could put a screeching halt to another alternative energy in Iowa – the currently booming market for solar power.
Like private utilities in Indiana, Nevada and Kansas and elsewhere, MidAmerican said the fees it’s backing in the Iowa Legislature are a matter of fairness to avoid charging other customers for costs incurred by solar generators when they resell excess power.
Those in the solar industry don’t buy it. They say a utility with
annual profits topping $600 million actually wants to control an emerging energy source.
The state Senate has approved the bill. It’s awaiting action in the
House.
Lawmakers Scrambling To Conclude General Session
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The flurry of activity that often signifies the end of a legislative session is evident at the Iowa Capitol this week.
The exact end of the 2019 session isn’t set, but lawmakers were
preparing Thursday to wind down their work and go home for the year. A Friday adjournment would be a week earlier than the scheduled May 3 session end.
The Iowa House debated a Republican priority property tax bill until nearly 3 a.m. Thursday. Only a few must-do budget bills remain.
Some controversial issues also are unresolved, including a bill to
impose a fee on solar energy installations, a measure that remaking the way Iowa nominates judges and a bill seeking election day changes, including moving up the closing time for voting.
If leaders pull together the needed votes, those issues could surface in the final hours.
University Of Nebraska To Study Rural Drug Abuse
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has received a nearly $12 million federal grant to research challenges connected with rural drug abuse in the Midwest.
The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health will fund a research initiative called the Rural Drug Addiction Center. Researchers will track 600 rural drug users in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
Nebraska has seen a drastic jump in its drug overdose rate in recent years. The issue is complicated by a trend among the state’s drug users who are often addicted to a combination of substances. It’s an understudied phenomenon that’s been seen in other Midwestern states.
The program’s leader, Kirk Dombrowski, says current drug addiction treatment focuses on brain chemistry, but understanding social patterns of abuse can lead to new treatments.
Deere and Company To Pay $1 Million Dollar Pollution Fine
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa attorney general’s office says Deere & Co. has agreed to pay $1 million for violating air quality standards at its Cedar Falls facility.
A news release said Thursday that Deere has agreed in a consent decree to annual third-party environmental audits for at least three years. They will continue until Deere receives two consecutive audits reports with few or no violations.
A spokesman for the Moline, Illinois-based heavy equipment company didn’t immediately return messages from The Associated Press.
The Iowa Natural Resources Department has said Deere didn’t comply with emissions limits at its Performance Engineering Center, operated without proper air quality permits in some cases and provided inaccurate information on compliance reports to the department from 2005 to 2016.
