On Monday, October 26, Sen. Grassley will join community leaders, area residents and government officials to celebrate the future construction of a new 42-megawatt wind generation facility in Cerro Gordo County. Initial operation of the wind farm is scheduled for June 1999. When the site is running at peak capacity, it will provide enough electricity to serve more than 20,000 households, according to developers.
Shuttle transportation to the ground breaking ceremony site will be provided at 11:30 a.m. from the Surf Ballroom and Convention Center. The Surf Ballroom is located at 460 North Shore Drive in Clear Lake.
Grassley has long been a champion of alternative energy sources. The original author of the Wind Energy Incentives Act of 1993, Grassley is leading the fight to extend the wind energy production tax credit. Under current law, the investment and production tax credits will expire June 30, 1999. Grassley's proposal would extend the tax credit for "nature's unlimited energy supply source" until June 30, 2004.
Grassley's production tax credit currently provides a 1.5 cent per kilowatt incentive for the production of electricity by wind energy. According to a Department of Energy study, Iowa ranked 10th among the top states measured for wind energy potential.
"Alternative sources of energy can provide a viable solution to America's dependence on finite fossil fuels," said Grassley. "It's a smart investment. With all of the costs factored in, wind energy can produce electricity at nearly half the cost of petroleum-based fuels. Instead of being held captive by the prevailing winds of foreign affairs in the Mideast, consumers need access to a domestically produced, pollution-free source of energy."
A senior member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Grassley has long advocated efforts to foster investment in renewable energy resources, including wind, biomass, soy diesel and ethanol. In 1992, the American Wind Energy Association recognized Grassley's leadership for renewable energies and named him "Senator of the Year."