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GROWTH OF WIND POWER WOULD BRING The American Wind Energy Association today kicked off its "Iowa Wind Power" campaign, calling for passage of legislation that ensures the continued growth of clean, affordable wind power and other sources of renewable energy in Iowa. AWEA has also created a web site on wind energy in Iowa, available online at http://www.awea.org/iowawind. "Utility restructuring in Iowa is an important opportunity for Iowa to continue its commitment to clean, native and renewable energy," said Randy Swisher, Executive Director of the Washington, D.C.-based trade association, and a graduate of the University of Iowa who grew up in Atlantic in Southwest Iowa. The Iowa legislature is now considering utility restructuring legislation. House File 740, introduced late in the last legislative session, contained few provisions for consumer and environmental protection. Opposition from labor, consumer and environmental groups was enough to block passage of the bill. Intense negotiations are now underway to revise the bill. AWEA, the national wind industry association, has joined the REDI Coalition Responsible Electric Deregulation for Iowa and is working with state advocates to ensure a bill that protects Iowa’s environment and economy. Tapping Iowa’s bountiful wind resources is an important way to benefit the state, the coalition says. "Wind power is already delivering substantial benefits to Iowa’s environment and economy," said Swisher. "Farmers are earning money by leasing their land to wind developers. Dozens of jobs are being created in rural areas. And counties and school districts will earn substantial tax payments from the wind farms." AWEA cites the following benefits from the existing wind power in Iowa · 200 six-month long construction jobs and 40 permanent maintenance and operations jobs · $2 million per year in tax payments to counties and school districts · $640,000 per year in direct lease payments to landowners Iowa’s wind turbines cut pollution too. They - · Reduce acid rain emissions (sulfur dioxide) by 5 million pounds per year · Reduce smog emissions (nitrogen dioxide) by 5 million pounds per year · Cut global warming emissions (carbon dioxide) by 1.3 billion pounds per year AWEA and the REDI Coalition are calling for four specific policies, to be included in any utility restructuring bill · A Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring retailers to provide a small but growing percentage of their power from renewables, rising to 10% by 2010. The RPS is a market-based, cost-effective way to foster renewable energy in a restructured electricity market because it allows trade among generators or retail sellers of electricity of "renewable energy credits" (tradable proof that one kWh or other unit of electricity has been generated by a renewable energy source). The market determines which type of renewable energy will be developed, where and at what price. Although wind power is among the least expensive sources of new electricity in the state, it is not yet the power source of choice for utilities. An RPS would ensure that Iowa reaps the economic and environmental benefits of wind power and other renewable sources of electricity. · Net Metering for all Iowa customers. Extending the state's existing net metering rules will let schools, farms, factories and homeowners generate their own power from the wind and save money on electricity by letting their meters "run backwards" when they generate more electricity than they are consuming Because net metering is intended for self-generation, the generator should be sized to meet the power demands of the customer; limiting payment for excess generation is the proper incentive for right-sizing. · A Public Benefits Fund of $100 million per year to support energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Such programs, including low-interest loans for wind systems, research and market development, have traditionally been supported by utilities and state agencies, and need to be continued in a restructured electricity market. For example, one program of value could be cost-shared funding support for small customer-owned wind turbines, which are unlikely to benefit from an RPS. · Disclosure of fuel and emissions data by every energy retailer to all their consumers. Information disclosure is a basic consumer protection. Survey after survey has shown that many people care about the environmental impacts of their purchase decisions. Without basic environmental information, consumers will not be able to make a valid choice. Iowa is now the number three state in the nation for wind power, with 332 large wind turbines and at least 22 smaller wind turbines producing enough power for over 80,000 homes. Wind power is creating many benefits for Iowa, keeping energy dollars in the state, creating jobs and rural economic development, and providing affordable clean electricity. Iowa is one of the hot spots of wind power in the rapidly growing world wind industry. Last year over $3 billion worth of wind turbines were installed around the world. Iowa's share of that market was almost 10 %, approaching $300 million. Major wind farms were built near Storm Lake, by Enron Wind Corp. of Tehachapi, California, and near Clear Lake, by FPL Energy, of Juno Beach, Florida. The Storm Lake wind farm, the largest single wind farm in the world, features 262 turbines with a total capacity of 196.5 megawatts (MW), enough to power 64,000 typical Iowa homes. The Clear Lake wind farm consists of 56 wind turbines with a total capacity of 42 MW, enough for another 14,000 homes. Smaller wind installations have been built near Algona, Waverly and Sibley, while single turbines are owned by 31 school districts, rural businesses, farms and local governments. Iowa has only begun to tap its wind resource. The state's wind energy potential is the 10th largest of the 50 states, according to a federal study. It is considerably larger than California's, the state with the most wind development to date and a wind energy generating capacity of 1553 MW. AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy |
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1999 by the American Wind Energy Association. |
