David Swenson, research scientist, was quoted in a Dec. 8 KCCI story, "US EPA's new biofuel blending targets spark controversy."
"What the RFS [Renewable Fuel Standard] did was just simply say that for 2020 all that needed to be blended was 12.6 billion gallons or so of ethanol into the nation's fuel supply. Agricultural and ethanol interests are crying foul, but that's all the nation's fuel supply could absorb in 2020. So it's somewhat disingenuous for them to act like the RFS is somehow doing farmers and doing ethanol interests wrong when it's just simply reflecting reality."
Swenson was also quoted in a Dec. 16 Des Moines Register story, "Meta expanding Altoona center."
Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson has been a pointed critic of state economic development incentives given to data centers on the suspect grounds that they will help generate tech jobs.
“The major cluster that we actually have regarding data centers is a collection of pliant, if not incredibly gullible, state and local officials willing to cede hundreds of millions in local tax revenues to extraordinarily rich firms in the name of paltry job gains,” he told the Des Moines Register in 2017.
On Wednesday, he continued to take a dim view. “From an economic development standpoint, from the perspective of basic economic principles, this doesn’t make sense,” he said.
This story also covered by:
Ames Tribune, Dec. 16
Swenson was interviewed by Tom Cullen, Storm Lake Times, about what was driving the growth in soybean crushing facilities in Iowa and in the Midwest.
Katie Piekes, Iowa Public Radio, about recent renewable fuels announcements by the EPA and their impact, if any, on the state’s ethanol industry.
Donnelle Eller, Des MoinesRegister, about the impending layoffs of 710 workers at TPI Composites in Newton.