Energy policy was the topic of discussion for a public Zoom event with the Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate District 10 Thursday night.

Stuart lawyer and farmer Warren Varley welcomed John Norris as the guest for the free event, answering questions about energy from Varley and other attendees. Norris is the former chair of the Iowa Utilities Board and former commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Norris stated that Iowa was the first state to pass a renewable energy requirement, and he mentions how the state’s energy policy has changed since then, including a Senate bill that was signed into law in 2018 that reduced the state’s decades-old energy efficiency programs by about two-thirds, “When I was chair of the Iowa Utilities Board I was extremely proud that Iowa was the leading state in the nation for energy efficiency efforts. We invested more per capita than any state in the country. I’ve been asked to speak across the country, in fact a couple times internationally, on Iowa’s energy efficiency programs, both as chair of the Iowa Utilities Board and as former commissioner. And to have your senator gut that energy efficiency that we should all have taken pride in was just so short sighted. And a true indicator that he is not looking out for the interests of his constituents, but carrying the wire for the utility industry which is very apparent by the amount of money they give to his campaign.”

Varley and Norris also spoke about fears for the future of ethanol, and energy production’s effect on climate change. Varley voiced his appreciation for the input of those who attended the meeting, “I heard as many new ideas from our listeners tonight as I heard from John and I think that is what makes local government strong and powerful. The things that I’m running for are making our communities more sustainable and resilient, the protecting and building of our communities. Because that’s what Iowa is, it’s all of us banding together to do things together that we can’t do on our own, and energy production is a key example of that.”

Varley previously held a Zoom discussion on education funding, and his next discussion scheduled for September 10th at 7 p.m. will focus on healthcare. He is running against Republican incumbent and private ambulance service chief operating officer Jake Chapman of Adel.