Iowa gets 31% of electricity from wind
“With potential to jump above 40 percent in the next five years, we are committed to building an even greener Iowa future that will provide our Iowa families with cleaner, renewable energy and job opportunities,” Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement.
Iowa snagged 31.3 percent of its electricity last year from wind generation, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state leads the nation in the percentage of electricity from wind, followed by South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota.
Previously, Iowa got about 29 percent of its electricity from wind.
Even though photovoltaic solar energy is a small percentage of the state’s total electricity generation, its use also climbed in Iowa, spiking 71 percent last year over 2014, the federal energy report showed.
Renewable-energy efforts have received a boost from state and federal tax credits that encourage their adoption. Last year, Congress agreed to extend the incentives.
Over the past decade, Iowa has attracted $11.8 billion in investment to build wind farms, according to a report from the American Wind Energy Association.
Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy, for example, has invested heavily in building wind energy capacity, about $6 billion since 2004, and it expects to generate about 57 percent of its electricity from wind by 2017.
Wind energy, the industry group said, has created about 6,000 jobs in Iowa, including positions at 13 factories that build wind turbine parts and materials. The group said wind developers pay Iowa farmers and other rural landowners about $17.1 million annually to place the turbines on their land.
owa increased the percentage of electricity it received from wind last year, climbing to over 30 percent. But state and national leaders said the state could push its renewable energy portfolio higher.
“With potential to jump above 40 percent in the next five years, we are committed to building an even greener Iowa future that will provide our Iowa families with cleaner, renewable energy and job opportunities,” Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement.
Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is leading the state’s development of an energy plan, said she has heard from new and existing businesses about “how important it is to have clean, renewable and reliable sources of energy like wind.”
The association said wind energy helps keep electricity rates low. It projects that growth in Iowa’s industry will help provide $3.6 billion in savings for ratepayers through 2050. The group also said wind energy is helping to improve air quality. Last year, for example, was the lowest yearly carbon emissions produced by the U.S. power sector since 1995, in part because of renewable energy, the industry said.
