Obama to blast Romney on wind energy in Iowa

(CNN) - The presidential campaign of President Barack Obama, who is campaigning in Iowa Tuesday, released the following excerpts of his speech in Oskaloosa:

"And at a moment when homegrown energy is creating new jobs in states like Iowa, my opponent wants to end tax credits for wind energy producers. He's said new sources of energy like these are 'imaginary.' His running mate calls them a 'fad.' During a speech a few months ago, Governor Romney even explained his energy policy this way: 'You can't drive a car with a windmill on it.' That's what he said about wind power. 'You can't drive a car with a windmill on it.'

"I wonder if he actually tried that. That's something I would have liked to see. But if he really wants to learn something about wind energy, Iowa, all he has to do is pay attention to what you've been doing.

"If he knew what you've been doing, he'd see that in places like Newton, where a few years ago, a Maytag plant shut down and jobs dried up; folks are now back to work manufacturing enormous new towers and blades for some of the most high-tech wind turbines on the planet. The wind industry now supports about 7,000 jobs in this state, and 75,000 jobs across the country. These jobs aren't a fad – they're good jobs and sources of pride we need to fight for.

"If he knew what you've been doing, he'd know we used to have to import most of the parts like these. Today they're made in Iowa, and made in America, by American workers. That's not imaginary – that's real. And that's what we're fighting for in this election.

"If he knew what you've been doing, he'd know that about 20% of Iowa's electricity now comes from wind, powering our homes and factories and businesses in a way that's clean and renewable. In fact, over the past 4 years, we've doubled the amount of electricity America generates from wind. Across America, we've built the equivalent of 12 new Hoover Dams' worth of wind energy. Governor Romney may have figured out that you can't drive a car with a windmill on it, but he doesn't seem to know that America now has enough wind turbines installed to generate enough electricity from wind to power nearly 13 million homes with clean energy. That's how you leave something better for the next generation. That's what's at stake right now.

"Unlike my opponent, I want to stop giving $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year to big oil companies that have rarely been more profitable, and keep investing in homegrown energy sources like wind that have never been more promising. That's the choice in this election. That's why I'm running for President of the United States."