According to the latest report by the American Wind Energy Association Iowa leads the nation in percentage of electricity generated from the wind energy which currently stands at 20 percent.
Iowa's wind energy capacity currently exceeds 4000 megawatts coming from more than 2500 wind turbines. In the last couple of years wind energy has certainly turned the state of Iowa into one of the nation's renewable energy leaders.
Wind energy expansion will further continue in Iowa as according to the Iowa Wind Energy Association executive director Harold Prior an additional wind energy projects of 1,000 megawatts will go online within the next 12 to 18 months.
The Iowans are very supportive of further wind energy expansion. According to the recent polls 85 percent of Iowa residents are extremely supportive of the further development of wind power industry because they look at it as the major job creator, something that currently weak U.S. economy desperately need.
The main problem with wind industry in Iowa is the same as in the state of Texas, the nation's leader in installed wind energy capacity, namely that there is a great need for more transmission lines which would also allow Iowa to transmit electricity out of the state.
Iowa is already working on this issue as there are several transmission projects underway now. However, further wind energy expansion cannot be achieved without the adequate federal support and as Prior said "the extension by Congress of a production tax credit given to builders of wind projects will be critical to the wind power industry’s future."
