Clean Energy
Overview
Iowa Small Businesses Need a Clean Energy Bill That Works For Us!
Clean Energy is not only good for the environment and lessens our dependence on foreign oil - it's also vital for small businesses.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act recognized the vital role small businesses play in helping lead our country's economic recovery by providing $5.4 billion in federal funding for small business grants, contracts, loans and tax incentives to advance the clean energy agenda. These grants began in January 2010, but many are slated to end in 2011. Unless we speak up!
Given that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, we need a Clean Energy Bill that continues to invest in small business!
We believe:
- The Bill should extend and expand the energy efficiency community block grants for small businesses. These grants allow business to increase their energy efficiency, which brings increased cost savings. They also create jobs in construction and other important industries, and provide incentives for energy efficient appliances and weatherization features.
- The Bill should continue the Smart Grid Investment Grant, which provides for energy grid investment and modernization. Small businesses benefit directly from these grants through contracts to update and repair existing equipment and install new equipment in their power lines.
- The Bill should continue funding to allow small businesses to partner with research groups to develop new "green" products and energy saving solutions.
Iowa stands to gain as many as 4500 new jobs and $89.5 million in additional revenue from energy efficiency alone.
(Energy Efficiency and Iowa's Economy. Iowa Policy Project report by Skip Laitner and Teresa Galluzzo. 2008.)