Des Moines Register
07-31-06
Research will propel Iowa's wind power
State already ranks No. 3 in nation.
REGISTER EDITORIAL BOARD
MidAmerican Energy is making progress in developing alternatives to burning
fossil fuels to generate electricity. The Des Moines-based company last week
announced plans to expand its wind-energy portfolio by erecting 82 turbines in
Pocahontas County. MidAmerican now owns and operates wind-driven turbine
power equal to 360.5 megawatts, or enough to keep the lights, air conditioners
and hair dryers going in 100,000 homes.
Now, if only there were a way to assure that the wind blew at a steady rate, and
we could store the wind-generated energy, Iowa would be on its way to a truly
renewable and virtually free source of power. Other obstacles stand in the path of
that dream as well, including the dubious practicality of installing wind generators
in every backyard.
Those are big obstacles, especially the storage conundrum. Iowa municipal
utilities plan to test storage of wind energy as compressed air in underground
aquifers. And researchers at Iowa State University and elsewhere are looking
at using wind-generated electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and
then storing and transporting the hydrogen for use as motor fuel. As those efforts
show, one of the best ways for the Iowa Legislature to support development of
wind energy is through funding university research. Iowa has wind in abundance;
why not make Iowa the center of wind-energy research?
The Pocahontas installation is part of MidAmerican's plan to add up to 545
megawatts of wind generation by the end of 2007. MidAmerican already has the
distinction of being the largest generator of wind energy in the United States —
that is if you count only regulated utility companies. It's a worthy distinction,
however. In fact, Iowa is the third-largest producer of wind power — after
California and Texas — at 836 megawatts, counting MidAmerican and other
private- and utility-owned generators.
That means Iowa is well on it way toward meeting Gov. Tom Vilsack's goal of
having 1,000 megawatts of renewable-generation capacity by 2010. With utilities
exploring biomass and other renewable fuels, it's reasonable to consider revising
that goal upward.
To put those numbers into perspective, even if Iowa were to reach the 1,000megawatt goal, it would be only a fraction of the energy consumed in Iowa.
Iowans consume more than 8,000 megawatts on a peak day, typically in the
summer. MidAmerican, for example, has a net generating capacity of 5,000
megawatts between plants it owns and purchased capacity.
Still, renewable-energy generation, along with conservation and increased
efficiency of power-consuming appliances, will account for a growing percentage
of the power picture in Iowa and every other state. And wind energy promises to
be a growing part of that picture.
Wind technology has come a long way since the days when wooden windmills
stood on every Iowa farmstead, and new efficiencies will be achieved. So, here's
to the wind blowing steadily across the Iowa prairie.