"Greener Earth Equals Green in Your Pocket." That's the title of a conference later this week in the Quad Cities on renewable energy.
One of the organizers is Lori McCollum, from the Energy Forum of Progressive Action for the Common Good. She says a lot of homeowners, businesses, and other organizations are already using alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar. And saving money.
"What we would really like to see is people really taking advantage of the current funding because you could get 60 to 65 per cent of your investment re-couped very quickly with all the tax incentives. The current payback on solar is 4-5 years. So it's really a good time to investigate those options."
Topics will include trends in renewable energy, funding options, and presentations by people who've already installed wind or geo-thermal, or solar energy at their home.
32 per cent of Iowa's energy is now generated by wind, and it's more than 50 per cent now for MidAmerican Energy. And the price of solar energy has dropped 80 per since 2010.
Along with her group, Progressive Action, the local chapter of the Sierra Club is co-sponsoring the event, with funding from the Mark Schwiebert Environmental Research Fund. The conference will be held Friday (11/9) at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island, from 9 am until 2 pm.
