tamatoledonews.com- Every summer, Iowans visiting farmers markets are given a powerful reminder of the wonderful taste and value to be found in local foods.

Now Steve Fugate, president of the Yoderville Biodiesel Collective and education director for the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, is hoping to help the state’s residents develop that same appreciation for locally-produced energy.

Sponsored by the National Center for Appropriate Technology and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, Fugate will spend the next three weeks driving to farmers markets around the state in a Volkswagen Jetta fueled by his home-made biodiesel. He will make a stop at the Farmers Market in Grinnell on Thursday July 29.

Fugate’s goal is to persuade people that the “Buy Local” movement should extend to locally-produced forms of energy too, from biodiesel and biogas to wind to solar.

Just as with food, energy produced locally carries many benefits, Fugate said. Biodiesel, for instance, reduces our reliance on foreign oil and is better for the environment. It can also be made right on the farm, using vegetable oil thrown away by local restaurants, or from oilseed crops grown locally. Wind and solar are growing Iowa industries that provide jobs in many Iowa communities as well as making use of resources Iowa has in abundance.

“In Iowa we are fortunate to have the expertise and financial assistance available to build sustainable, local food and fuel production systems,” Fugate said. “Farmers may not be aware that there are many opportunities for grants and funds to do on-farm energy projects and there are low-cost DIY solutions that can be done for very little investment. When energy prices double or triple, farmers are between a rock and a hard place. Now is an excellent time to develop the ability to produce fuel on the farm.”