A report issued by the Sierra Club and the Worldwatch Institute states that Iowa could enjoy significant job growth if it focused on renewable energy technologies instead of ethanol production.
According to an article in the Des Moines Register, the newly released ‘Destination Iowa’ claims the Hawkeye State could generate more than 9,500 jobs from manufacturers of solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy equipment. Furthermore, the report states Iowa could attract more than 450 new renewable energy companies if the U.S., as a whole, added 18,500 MW of renewable energy annually for the next 10 years.
The report also faulted the underwhelming number of new job opportunities created by the increased interest in ethanol. ‘Destination Iowa’ found the state's ethanol plants created were expected to add as many as 1,000 jobs throughout the communities they were built in, but only created about 130 jobs per plant.
