President Obama stressed his support for renewable energy and biofuels during a visit to Iowa Thursday and urged Congress to renew tax credits that encourage clean energy production.

Obama spoke to workers at TPI Composites, a company that makes blades for wind turbines and employs more 700 people. “If Congress doesn’t act, companies like this one will take a hit,” he said. “Jobs will be lost. That’s not a guess, that’s a fact. We can’t let that happen.”

The president is specifically urging Congressional action on the Production Tax Credit, set to expire at the end of this year, and the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit.

Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, which is pushing to have the biodiesel tax credit renewed, was pleased with the president’s comments. “We were happy to hear President Obama reaffirm his support for renewable energy and biofuels to assist in achieving an all of the above energy strategy,”said Steckel. “We are eager to see the Administration continue to grow the economy in Iowa and across the United States by following through as quickly as possible on the EPA’s proposal to increase biodiesel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard.”

During his Iowa visit, he POTUS also held a Twitter chat about his “to-do list” for Congress, answering questions live on-line, like the following:
#WHChat Fossil fuels are much much much cheaper and our economy is based on cheap energy. Why push Algae?
– bio fuels, wind , solar all getting cheaper each year & oil getting more expensive. Why we need all-of-the-above strategy. -bo