Iowa Wind Energy

Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, DesMoines, and the rest of Nebraska and Iowa

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icejammer
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Iowa Wind Energy

Post by icejammer »

County looks at wind turbines
Two hundred and sixty-foot windmills might soon be dotting the skyline in eastern Pottawattamie County.

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors approved the first reading of an ordinance on assessment of wind energy conversion property and a zoning amendment for non-commercial wind turbines. . . .

Supervisor chairman Delbert King said MidAmerican Energy plans on building 67 turbines in Layton, Knox, Lincoln and Valley townships in the northeast part of the county.

The second consideration is scheduled for May 28, and King said four turbines could go up within 60 days. The turbines are expected to cost $2 million, and landowners will receive between $5,000 and $6,000 from MidAmerican a year to lease the ground they are built on. . . .
Last edited by icejammer on Tue May 20, 2008 7:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by the1wags »

Once again, Iowa is stomping a mudhole in Nebraska as far as wind power is concerned. I don't get it either, Nebraska is plenty windy for it to work. Check this out.
Image

Is it an incentive thing or what?
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Post by icejammer »

the1wags wrote:Is it an incentive thing or what?
There might be some difference in incentives, but not much, I don't think.  Here's a link to Iowa's incentives:
http://www.energy.iastate.edu/renewable/incentives/index.htm

The biggest difference between the two states is the level of committment that the State of Iowa has made to renewable energy.  Hopefully more states will follow.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

I was just out in California and the wind farms I saw there were AMAZING.... Hundreds of thousands of turbines stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions!
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Post by icejammer »

County wind power to take step forward
The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the final reading of an ordinance on assessment of wind energy conversion property and a zoning amendment for noncommercial wind turbines. . . .

King said four turbines could go up within 60 days. The turbines are expected to cost $2 million, and landowners will receive between $5,000 and $6,000 a year from MidAmerican to lease the ground they are built on. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

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Post by icejammer »

Wind energy project OK'd
MidAmerican Energy Co. received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board Monday for a 100.5-megawatt wind energy project in Pottawattamie County.

MidAmerican will install 67 1.5-megawatt General Electric wind turbines near Walnut in Layton, Knox, Lincoln and Valley townships, a news release from the company stated.

Another six units will be added to the existing Pomeroy Wind Project in Pocahontas County. The company plans to have the new turbines operating by year's end.

With the new units, MidAmerican will have 800 wind turbines totaling 1,231.8 megawatts of generation capacity - enough to power 425,000 U.S. homes. The addition will help the company, which entered the wind energy field in 2004, maintain its national ranking as the leading owner of wind generation capacity among regulated utilities. . . .
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icejammer
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Post by icejammer »

Wind energy project expanded
Continuing its strong development in wind generation, MidAmerican Energy Co. is expanding its Walnut Wind Project in Pottawattamie County.

Earlier this year, MidAmerican announced plans for 67 wind turbines to be built and place in service by the end of the year near Walnut. In recent months, MidAmerican was able to acquire additional wind turbines, allowing the company to expand the project by 35 units.

MidAmerican expects to have the entire Walnut Wind Project - a total of 153 megawatts - online by the end of the year. The development features 102 General Electric 1.5-megawatt turbines. . . .

With the expansion, MidAmerican plans to have 833 wind turbines with a total of 1,284.3 megawatts of generation capacity, online by the end of the year. That commitment will help maintain the company's national ranking as one of the leading owners of wind generation capacity among regulated utilities. . . .

In addition to the investment MidAmerican is making in non-carbon electric generating capacity, the company is investing approximately $400 million on environmental upgrades to reduce emissions at its power plants by the end of 2009. When that work is completed, there will be a 44 percent reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides and a 38 percent reduction in emissions of sulfur dioxide from MidAmerican's coal-fueled power plants.
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Post by Bryan1117 »

It is really is amazing how much farther ahead Iowa is compared to Nebraska in their use of renewable energies, especially Wind Power.

Last week, while I was driving to Eastern Iowa for a business trip, I noticed that near the town of Adair, IA, which is at mile-marker 75 on Interstate 80 east of Omaha, there are several HUGE wind turbines (25 already up, while another 40 or so in the beginning stages of being installed out there) going up along and south of the Interstate. The blades on the turbines were almost as tall as the tower supporting them, probably 250 feet from tip to tip... Very impressive sight to see in the middle of otherwise hills and farmland in West Central Iowa and a sign that Iowa really has its energy policies heading in the right direction.
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Post by Stargazer »

There's a reason Nebraska is 'behind' Iowa in terms of wind energy.

Nebraska's public utilities (among the only states left in the nation having them)... are a double edged sword.

We have among the nations lowest rates, absent the profit margin required by private utilities... but since our utilities don't pay taxes, we don't qualify for most of the federal incentives for building wind farms.

If we're going to build wind farms... we're going to have to fully fund it ourselves.

Oh, and perhaps it also has something to do with UP having a huge chunk of it's revenue coming from hauling coal... you think it's possible they have any influence on the OPPD/NPPD boards?
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Post by Big E »

Bryan1117 wrote:I noticed that near the town of Adair, IA, which is at mile-marker 75 on Interstate 80 east of Omaha
Just say "by the smiley face water tower":

Image
Stable genius.
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Post by icejammer »

Bryan1117 wrote:Last week, while I was driving to Eastern Iowa for a business trip, I noticed that near the town of Adair, IA, which is at mile-marker 75 on Interstate 80 east of Omaha, there are several HUGE wind turbines (25 already up, while another 40 or so in the beginning stages of being installed out there) going up along and south of the Interstate. The blades on the turbines were almost as tall as the tower supporting them, probably 250 feet from tip to tip... Very impressive sight to see in the middle of otherwise hills and farmland in West Central Iowa and a sign that Iowa really has its energy policies heading in the right direction.
Probably this project.
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Post by Gerald W. Kopiasz »

<<Oh, and perhaps it also has something to do with UP having a huge chunk of it's revenue coming from hauling coal... you think it's possible they have any influence on the OPPD/NPPD boards?>>

Hahahaha...I love conspiracy stories!  I'm just wondering how the grassy knoll fits into all of this...

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Post by Bryan1117 »

Got to love that big yellow "smiley face" :D water tower out there virtually in the middle of nowhere. I remembered back a few years ago they repainted it just like most other water towers in white, with ADAIR in black letters. That didn't last long and soon enough it was back to the yellow water tower that we know of, and love :-)  

Back on topic, construction is well underway at the Wind Farm near Walnut, IA, that is mentioned in the above article, with about 30 turbines up (but not running yet) and dozens more under construction. Next time you are on Interstate 80 near Walnut you will not be able to miss this Wind Farm, which is taking shape on the south side of Walnut. If the visibility is good next week, I will stop and take a couple pictures of what is going on out east of Omaha... I would have to say these Wind Farms are a very impressive sight, especially when there is nothing else out there to see.
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Post by Brad »

Massive Turbines Harness Wind Energy In Iowa

http://www.ketv.com/news/17921883/detail.html
www.ketv.com wrote:Giant wind turbines are showing up more and more across the state, especially in the town of Walnut, where MidAmerica Energy plans to have 102 turbines running by the end of the year.
www.ketv.com wrote:But the process of erecting the behemoth energy-producing machines -- as tall as a 26-story building -- is a logistical feat in itself.
They spin a diameter that's about as wide as a football field, capturing the state's most abundant resource -- the wind.

That resource is converted into enough renewable energy to pay for the turbines themselves, which come with an individual $4 million price tag.

By the end of the year, MidAmerica Energy hopes to have 833 turbines on eight windfarms across the state.
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Iowa Wind Energy

Post by Brad »

I could not believe how many Wind Turbines I saw when I drove through Iowa the other day!

Iowa still No. 2 in wind power

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090729/MONEY/707299908
www.omaha.com wrote:DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New figures show that Iowa remains No. 2 in the nation in wind power.

The American Wind Energy Association reported this week that Iowa added 160 megawatts of wind-generation capacity in the second quarter of the year, bringing its generation capacity to 3,043.

Texas remains far ahead of Iowa in wind energy 8,361 megawatts. Behind Iowa is California with 2,787 megawatts.

Officials say Iowa’s additional capacity in the second quarter came from one wind farm — an 80-turbine project in Worth County, developed by Iberdrola Renewables.

Officials say four new projects are under construction.
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Post by bargainhunter »

Great Job IOWA!
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Re: Iowa Wind Energy

Post by DTO Luv »

Brad wrote:I could not believe how many Wind Turbines I saw when I drove through Iowa the other day!

Iowa still No. 2 in wind power

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090729/MONEY/707299908
www.omaha.com wrote:DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New figures show that Iowa remains No. 2 in the nation in wind power.

The American Wind Energy Association reported this week that Iowa added 160 megawatts of wind-generation capacity in the second quarter of the year, bringing its generation capacity to 3,043.

Texas remains far ahead of Iowa in wind energy 8,361 megawatts. Behind Iowa is California with 2,787 megawatts.

Officials say Iowa’s additional capacity in the second quarter came from one wind farm — an 80-turbine project in Worth County, developed by Iberdrola Renewables.

Officials say four new projects are under construction.
I couldn't either when I drove to Chicago last month. It was quite the site to see and kind of impressive. Then you drive to Lincoln and see all 2 of the wind turbines. :(
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Post by the1wags »

Mark it down! DTO says something good about Iowa.  :shock:

Kidding aside, it is frustrating to know that Nebraska has more wind power potential than Iowa and is FAR, FAR behind. I don't know for sure, but I'm almost certain Iowa might have passed state laws creating tax breaks for wind power.
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Post by DTO Luv »

the1wags wrote:Mark it down! DTO says something good about Iowa.  :shock:

Kidding aside, it is frustrating to know that Nebraska has more wind power potential than Iowa and is FAR, FAR behind. I don't know for sure, but I'm almost certain Iowa might have passed state laws creating tax breaks for wind power.
Iowa got way higher on my list especially after April. I think Iowa has got much more going for it than this sorry |expletive| state we live in but I still would never want to live over there. :)
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Post by Stargazer »

Once again, it's the federal government which is providing most of the incentives for using wind power... and our public utilities don't qualify (they don't pay taxes).
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Post by ItsAllAboutMe »

Once again, it's the federal government which is providing most of the incentives for using wind power... and our public utilities don't qualify (they don't pay taxes).
Thanks Stargazer, but that fact, which has been posted several times before in other threads, once again will not be heard or remembered.

There are numerous other reasons why Iowa will lead Nebraska in this area, some of which have been posted in the past. I'm a huge fan of wind power, however, I understand the limitations & reliability of wind generation.

So what if Nebraska is one of the windiest states?  Iowa, due to population, population distribution, transmission line...etc. is set up so much better to harness wind power in a much more economical way.

So, even in Nebraska wind power is at best reliable 21% of the time?  That other 79%(or greater) when the wind is not blowing enough to generate power demand must still be met.

You just can't build a wind farm in the middle of no where without a means to transport the power.  Transmission lines are very expensive to build and those too you just can't put anywhere you want.

There are those who simply don't want to hear the facts about wind power.  Yes, it's part of the answer to our energy needs but you need to put it in the proper perspective.
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Post by Stargazer »

Does anyone expect wind energy to replace conventional power?  I only expect it to enable us to periodically 'turn down the thermostat' on the coal fired plant.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Stargazer wrote:Does anyone expect wind energy to replace conventional power?  I only expect it to enable us to periodically 'turn down the thermostat' on the coal fired plant.
Agreed, I think its part of the solution.  Part of the solution is just conserving.  Between a programmable thermostat and compact florescent bulbs I have DRASTICALLY reduced my power bill over the past 18 months.
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Post by almighty_tuna »

Brad wrote:programmable thermostat
[derail]
How well do those work, btw?  We still have our original one from the 70s.  Looks like a PITA to replace, too.
[/derail]
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Post by nebugeater »

almighty_tuna wrote:
Brad wrote:programmable thermostat
[derail]
How well do those work, btw?  We still have our original one from the 70s.  Looks like a PITA to replace, too.
[/derail]
They work great if you don't buy the 19.99 one at Walmart.  Get one that has enough programing options to have each day programmed separately, esp if your days off are not on Sat and Sunday.  Also get at least 4 zones during the day such as Wake Away, Evening, and Night.  The one I use is a Honeywell VisionPRO TH8000 series and it works great.  Costs me around $100 but it has payed me back many times.  There are lower cost ones that will work but this is a great stat with all the features you need and more.
For the record  NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER    !!!!!!!
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

It takes 5 min to replace.... If you know how to use a screwdriver and know the difference between red, green, blue, and yellow. :;):

It works great.  Bumps up a few degrees when i am at work and sleeping and you can program the weekend differently.  Saves a lot of money.
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Post by almighty_tuna »

Thanks, guys.  I will have to take a second look at the thermostats (and screwdriver manuals :;):).
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Post by icejammer »

Learn about wind energy at fair
MidAmerican Energy Company encourages visitors to the Iowa State Fair to stop by the company’s visitors center to learn more about wind generation. . .
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Post by icejammer »

There’s power in Iowa’s breezes
The towers reach skyward with giant, almost surreal blades slicing through the air. The wind towers that now dot the Iowa landscape in several locations, including northeastern Pottawattamie County, are an impressive sight. . . .

Iowa is now the second-largest producer of wind energy in the nation, trailing only Texas, according to the Iowa Energy Center, which is administered by Iowa State University. . .

As of the end of 2008, the state had a wind power generating capacity of 2,789.3 megawatts, according to http://www.nationalwind.com. Another 20 megawatts of capacity were under construction.

The Iowa Utilities Board has estimated that 15 percent of the state’s power is now generated by wind energy, up from 5 percent just three years ago. Iowa is now home to 11 percent of the nation’s wind power generating capacity. . . .
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Post by icejammer »

Wind 20% of Iowa's energy
Wind energy accounts for up to 20 percent of Iowa's total electricity production, and is helping to keep the state's power costs among the lowest in the nation, a study released Wednesday showed.

Authors of the study said it debunks arguments that alternative energy and other measures to combat climate change are too expensive. The study was conducted by the Iowa Policy Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization based in Iowa City. . . .
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Post by Seth »

Brad wrote:It takes 5 min to replace.... If you know how to use a screwdriver and know the difference between red, green, blue, and yellow. :;):

It works great.  Bumps up a few degrees when i am at work and sleeping and you can program the weekend differently.  Saves a lot of money.
Bah, I just program my manual thermostat to 24-hour energy-save mode: 60 in winter, turned off in the summer.

Hmm, on second, though, that programmable option might be nice; I could turn it down to 50 overnight!
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Post by the1wags »

Yeah I don't get it either. My parents have done the manual adjust for YEARS with the heat. Crank it down to 60 or so at night. It's probably why I have the windows open for a couple of hours before bed. :lol:
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Re: Iowa Wind Energy

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Iowa wind turbines power all of utility's customers for 2 days

http://www.omaha.com/news/iowa/iowa-win ... f20b6.html
AP on Omaha World-Herald wrote:MidAmerican Energy officials said winds blew hard enough on Monday and Tuesday for wind turbines to provide all of the power needed to meet its customers’ needs for the state.
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Re: Iowa Wind Energy

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http://www.omaha.com/money/tenaska-mida ... 84209.html
Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer wrote:Also this week, two new wind farms owned by Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy began full operation in central Iowa. MidAmerican is a division of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Between the two sites, there are 169 wind turbines capable of generating 338 megawatts’ worth of electricity. They are part of MidAmerican’s Wind XI project, a $3.6 billion plan through which the utility will build enough new wind capacity to supply 90 percent of its retail customers’ usage by 2020.

At the same time, the company will “repower” hundreds of GE wind turbines at existing sites like the one near Walnut, Iowa, about 45 miles east of Omaha.
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