Iowa surpassed a milestone for wind energy, getting 31 percent of its energy from wind this year, up from 27 percent in 2013.
This week, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad announced that Iowa currently gets 31 percent of its energy from wind turbines, making it the No. 1 user of wind energy in the United States.
University of Iowa Provost P. Barry Butler, who teaches several classes about wind energy, said Iowa is a leader in wind energy because of its location in the “wind belt,” which extends from Canada to the panhandle of Texas, and because of bipartisan support from policymakers.
“No one ever thought we’d get to 20 percent, and we exceeded that, and now we’re past 30 percent,” Butler said. “The state could easily get to 50 percent with just additional installation; there’s no question that that’s realistic.”
Most wind farms are currently located in western and central Iowa. Johnson County Supervisor Mike Carberry said with higher demand for wind energy, wind farms may need to develop in eastern Iowa, which is less ideal for wind energy. It is also difficult to transport energy from the western part of the state because they are already transmitting a lot of electricity from there, he said.
“Wind energy is a commodity, just like corn, and when you produce a commodity, you have to get it to the market,” Carberry said. ”So for corn, we use trucks and roads to get them to the market, and to get wind energy to market, we need transmission.”
Carberry said transmission is one of the biggest factors limiting the expansion of wind energy, but he is confident Iowa can get up to 50 percent of its energy from wind.
RELATED: Iowa gets windy with it
Deirdre Hirner, the Midwest Region director for the American Wind Energy Association, said Iowa is leading the country in wind energy because of Branstad and the Iowa Legislature’s ongoing support through policies and incentives.
“It’s that leadership that has really been crucial to making things move in Iowa,” Hirner said. “I wish every state was like Iowa and supported wind energy as the people and leaders in Iowa do.”
She said she often runs into resistance from people in other states who do not want wind turbines near homes and cities, but Iowans support wind energy.
Landowners who have wind turbines on their property receive a lease payment as long as the turbine is there, so Hirner said it is economical for locals to support wind energy.