A decision on a new location for the proposed Iowa rainforest could come by the end of next month. Pella is one of the cities vying for the rainforest and John Smith of the Pella Electric Coop is one of the supporters of the idea. Smith says they won’t know exactly what’s involved in creating the rainforest until the field is narrowed and they get more design specifications. He says there’s a lot of information they’re looking for to understand the needs, as he says infrastructure will require a lot of coordination on the local, county and regional levels.
Smith says his coop would supply the power to the rainforest if it is built in Pella. Smith says the rainforest will be at a set temperature and that will pose a challenge when there’s cold weather, and require a significant amount of energy. Smith says the rainforest would offer a good place to experiment with different types of energy.
Smith says there’s lot of research potential with the number of colleges in the area. Smith says they expect to hear about the finalists for the rainforest location by the end of this month, and then an announcement on the final selection by the end of March.