Wind Energy Production Grows in the Hawkeye State

You can hear the swift sound of movement as the turbine blades cut through the wind at this wind farm near Lake Park, Iowa. It's clean and efficient, and growing faster than any other energy source in the U.S.

"Iowa's 5100 installed megawatts are the equivalent to taking 13 million cars off the road," says Iowa Wind Energy Association Executive Director Harold Prior.

That's also equal to powering 85 million 60–watt light bulbs, and if you can believe it, the Iowa Wind Energy Association hopes to quadruple that 5100 megawatts by 2030.

If you're even considering a future in wind production, now is the time to get your turbines in a row.In 2012, producers received a 2.2 cent tax credit for every kilowatt hour produced.

But now, the federal government added new "in progress" language to the extension passed as part of the fiscal cliff deal, which basically gives wind producers a year to get their facilities in check.As long as they begin the construction before 2014, they'll still get that tax credit.

"It's going to open up another short term boom in the development of wind farm projects. There were a number of large projects and medium size projects that are already financed, they've done their power of purchase agreements, They've done all their permitting requirements. They just weren't sure they could get their product to the site and get the wind farm constructed before the end of December 2012. So they put those projects on hold," says Prior.

But now, Prior says, producers can get back on the bandwagon. It's the first step in the growth of the wind industry here in the Hawkeye State. But the Iowa Wind Energy Association is lobbying for a longer extension: they want it locked in for the next ten years.

And in half that time, the wind industry predicts it will be at the top of its game; functioning without the help of any subsidies. Prior says, there's a valid equity argument on the table.

"If other generators, like coal, oil or natural gas and nuclear are continuing to get tax subsidies through the tax code, or outside the tax code, then our argument is, look, let's have all the generators of electricity on a level playing field. So, if you're going to eliminate the subsidy for wind energy, than how about we eliminate the subsidy for all generators of electricity, and allow all of us to compete on a level playing field," he says.

He says that would also help reduce the federal deficit. Wind turbines currently generate roughly 20 percent of all the electricity produced in Iowa, enough to power more than 1.1 million homes.

Ecuador's Villonaco wind farm project, located in the province of Loja, is considered emblematic of the government of President Rafael Correa Delgado, himself a former economist. Morevoer, it is the world's highest such eolian structure, built some 2,720 metres above sea level.

On Wednesday January 2, 2013, President Correa refused to officially open the Villonaco wind farm, branding it incomplete because it does not have an access road.

The wind farm is made up of 11 generators with a total output capacity of 16.5 MW, a substation to step up power from 34.5 to 69 kilovolts, and a subtransmission line that links the Villonaco substation to its counterpart in Loja, which is on Ecuador's national power grid.

The system was set up by the Chinese company Xinjian Goldwind Science and Technology and will cut CO2 emissions by as much as 35.270 metric tons a year. It will also reduce diesel imports, the fuel needed to generate thermal electricity. As Correa points out on Ecuador's Ministry of Tourism website, "We would save almost USD 13 million per year in fuel costs alone."

Ecuador's electrical company CELEC is in charge of the infrastructure, with an investment of USD 36 million. The benefits are myriad, especially in terms of the environment insofar as the project will reduce toxic emissions in the atmosphere; in economic terms, it will satisfy 25% of the annual energy consumption of the province of Loja. The project will also cover 68,7% of the demand currently handled by the Empresea Eléctrica Regional Sur, the company that provides power to the provinces of Loja, Zamora, and sections of Morona Santiago.