-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-
Sen. Joni Ernst visits Ideal Energy to discuss Iowa’s leadership role in solar energy
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, August 23rd, 2017 – Senator Joni Ernst made a stop in Fairfield, Iowa, on Thursday, August 17th to visit Ideal Energy, Inc. and tour one of the largest solar arrays in the state.
During her visit the senator spoke with Ideal Energy founder and former US Navy SEAL Troy Van Beek about Iowa’s leadership role in the nation’s growing clean energy economy. Iowa is at the forefront of utility-scale wind projects and in recent years has seen explosive growth in solar installations among utilities, businesses, and homeowners.
Senator Ernst also toured Schaus-Vorhies Manufacturing’s half megawatt solar field, which provides 100% of the business’s energy needs and puts a formerly contaminated EPA cleanup site to productive use. The solar field was designed and built by Ideal Energy and is one of the largest privately owned solar arrays in Iowa.
“Iowa is leading the Midwest’s clean energy economy because of strong leadership from our politicians, businesses, homeowners, and utilities,” says Van Beek. “There is still a lot to do to prepare for the future – and we want to remain on the forefront. I want to see Iowa as a net exporter of clean energy, with 100% or more of our energy production coming from renewables.”
At the end of 2016, 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties had installed solar projects benefitting from Iowa’s solar tax credit, and the state had more distributed solar installed than neighboring Midwest states with a total of 41.8 megawatts. Van Beek encouraged Senator Ernst to continue supporting both distributed generation and utility-scale renewable energy projects in the state.
Media Contact:
Amy Van Beek
Ideal Energy, Inc.
(641) 209-3288
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