Iowa Energy Center director tells Decorah audience, "I'm totally impressed" by state's percentage of renewable energy

Iowa Energy Center Director Dr. Mark Petri spent Earth Day morning in Decorah.  At a breakfast hosted by the Winneshiek Energy Center, he told an audience of two dozen people that Iowans seem to have the same goals of improved energy efficiency and increased sustainable energy sources.  Petri, who has moved to Iowa from the Chicago area, told the group he's "impressed with the amount of cooperation" among energy groups in the state.

Iowans get nearly one-quarter of their electricity from wind energy.  Petri says that figure probably won't increase much in the near future because utilities are more interested in improving transmission lines and the power grid, including working on power storage.  That's important for wind energy because its production has peaks and valleys.

Petri says IOwa has a lot of rural electric cooperatives and municipal energy systems, which gives the state a good opportunity to have pilot programs to determine which energy options work for the state.

The Iowa Energy Center receives $3-4 million in funding each year from the state legislature.  Petri says his organization tries to leverage those funds to match federal funds or other sources of funding