Wind Turbines

When we were in Iowa we saw several farms with the new wind turbines on them. I (and Chuck) have been fascinated ever since in them. We asked various relatives out in Iowa about them and they said they are becoming more predominate there through a grant program.

After returning home, I did some research and found out about the Iowa grant program. The state gives them a 0% loan for up to 50% of the installation cost and then the farmer must obtain the other 50% through traditional means. The interesting thing was reading through the individual case studies they had on the site. Most of the turbines cost $30,000-$60,000. The farmers were recouping their money within 6-10 years. I was amazed by these numbers. The neat thing is with this program, that any extra electricity the farmer produces is bought by the local electric company. According to the website, Iowa now produces 14% of its electrical needs with wind energy.

Along those lines I picked up a book the other day at the library about 2 guys traveling across country in a "french fry" car as they called it. It is a old diesel station wagon that they converted to run on old frying oil. While reading the book, there was a chapter about wind turbines in Minnesota. In southeastern Minnesota there are elevated rolling hills called the Buffalo Ridge. Because of its geographic location there is a constant wind there. Farmers have been diversifying and several wind farms have developed there. They are producing a large amount of electricity in this area.

Wind energy is not the answer for everyone but it is neat to see states take advantage of their geographic location and encourage clean energy. I am still researching the topic because it has peaked my interest. I will share some more facts interesting facts if I dig some more up.

By the way the book I mentioned about is an interesting read. It is called, Greasy Rider and is written by Greg Melville.