During the examination of witnesses at today’s session of the IUB public hearing, it was mentioned that Iowa occupies a rather unique position when it comes to energy consumption.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Iowa ranks very high in its consumption of energy per capita. In 2013, it was the 5th most energy-intensive state in the nation.
This is not surprising, since Iowa has several energy-intensive industries within its borders. Agriculture, food production, and food processing requires a vast amount of refined petroleum products in order to keep machinery running, and to make sure that Americans can enjoy the important foods they love. Likewise, Iowa’s manufacturing industry, which has proven invaluable to the American economy, uses a significant amount of fuel.
Given that Iowa does not produce any of its own petroleum, all of this energy comes from outside of the state. Investments such as Dakota Access will lower the cost of transporting this valuable resource to refineries, where it is turned into diesel fuel, gasoline, and other products which are necessary to power Iowa’s biggest industries.