The Farm Energy Working Group supports research, education, and the implementation of a variety of energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy practices from on-farm resources to meet the needs of Iowa's small and mid-sized farms.
I-Renew (Iowa Renewable Energy Association)
Solar Photovoltaics Workshop
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009; 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center, 120 E. Boyson Rd, Hiawatha, IA 52233-1277
Cost: $110 for I-Renew members; $160 for non-members.
Instructor: Dennis Pottratz, GoSolar
Residential Wind Workshop
Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009; 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Same location & cost
Instructor: James McCain, Innovative Kinetics
Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Meeting
On-Farm Energy Speaker, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2010; 1:30-2:30 pm
Eric Kreidenmacher grows prairie and ag residues to process pellets that stoke boiler furnaces and provide nearly all of the heat for the greenhouses on his southern Minnesota farm. Find out how he does, it, the challenges, and economic viability.
Objectives:
To facilitate the development and coordination of a state-wide "Farm Energy Working Group" that will encourage research, collaboration, implementation, demonstration, and outreach for a wide variety of energy conservation, erfficiency, and renewable eneryg practices to meet the on-farm energy needs of Iowa farms, especially small to mid-sized farms. The Working Group will involve key state organizations, energy practitioners, and farmers.
Bring participants together to exchange insights, learn from one another's expertise, network, support implementation of efficiency and renewable energy on Iowa farms, and learn from existing examples in Iowa and around the nation.
Increase communications among many entites already active in the field and provide a go-to entity for experience and informational resources.
Highlight existing local and national efforts and enable participating entities to intensify their work in meeting on-farm energy needs through conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy.
Routinely invite leading practitioners to join our meetings and share their insights and expertise on specific topics such as small wind turbines for farm use, solar hot water for farms, efficient agricultural buildings, solar-powered livestock watering systems, farm energy audits, bio-gas systems, farm energy calculators, and more.
Identify and make public on the web site available state and federal incentives, grants related to on-farm energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy implementation.
Make available seed grants to Working Group members and others who propose to further the goals of this Working Group through research, development and implementation of conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy on farms.
Recommend and coordinate experimental pilot projects that will help collect data on innovative ways for farmers to increase their use of energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy from on-farm resources to meet farm energy needs.
The outcomes will be shared through existing networks participating in this and other working groups of the Leopold Center through field days, documented case studies, topic-specific workshops, reports, and other ways of engaging and reaching farmers, energy professionals, and extension staff.