Preparing for High Heating Costs

by Paul Cutting, Energy Planner High energy bills are expected this year. (Read this article for an analysis of why.) What can you do to get ready? First of all, go after all the low hanging fruit like air sealing and making sure your furnace is in good working order.   Generally speaking, the biggest sources of air intrusion/extrusion through a house are the basement and attic. In the basement, make

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EV Tourism in Northeast Iowa, an opportunity for Rural Iowa to get on the Map

by Josh Dansdill, RC&D Business Development Project Director I was recently asked, what did you learn upon completing an EV Tourism Study for Northeast Iowa? The first word that came to my mind was, opportunity. An opportunity for Northeast Iowa to claim itself as an EV-friendly vacation destination. It seems that many communities and regions have yet to connect to the electric vehicle market especially in the Midwest. With Northeast

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Expect High Home Heating Costs This Winter

by Paul Cutting, Energy Planner Get ready, it may cost a lot more to heat your home this winter. The convergence of a multitude of factors, including the war in Ukraine, a summer of unprecedented heat and electricity demand, diminished seasonal natural gas reserves, record exports of liquified natural gas, impending price caps on Russian energy, and continued fallout from the February 2021 Texas energy meltdown are all aligning to

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