Iowans who wondered how much electricity could be generated by a strong wind got an answer earlier this year. A measurement tool developed by Climate Central determined that the equivalent of 1.8 million homes were powered by wind electricity generated in central Iowa on a single day in March. To put that number in perspective, consider that there are only about 1.3 million households across the entire state, according to Census Bureau data.
The tool was Climate Central’s WeatherPower, which can forecast daily wind or solar electricity generation, the Des Moines Register reported. On March 7, WeatherPower found that 51,000 megawatt-hours of electricity were generated in central Iowa, which is enough to power 4.6 billion smartphones. Average wind speeds were around 10.2 miles per hour.
Photo Courtesy Climate Central
On its website, Climate Central describes itself as “an independent organization of leading scientists and journalists” that researches and reports about climate changes and their impact on the public.
According to a press release, WeatherPower “estimates the electricity produced locally (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) by combining data on existing installed wind and solar power generation capacity with information on yesterday’s actual weather and today’s and tomorrow’s forecasts.”
The results are presented in customizable graphics, displaying “the total electricity generated in megawatt-hours and as a percentage of electricity used in homes.”
This data is important for a state like Iowa, which relies heavily on wind energy to generate electricity. As previously reported by The Business Download, Iowa ranks among the top states in average wind speed, making it a good candidate for wind-generated power.
Photo Courtesy Climate Central
In July 2023, Iowa set a new record when it announced that 64% of the state’s energy production came from wind. As the Public News Service reported, clean energy advocates called it a “big step along the road to fossil-fuel independence.” The milestone reflected many years of progress since Iowa began harnessing wind energy on a large scale.
Last year’s wind-generation figure represented continued clean energy progress in the Hawkeye State. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Iowa was the second-largest wind power producer in the country after Texas as of 2022. Wind energy powered 62% of Iowa’s net generation that year, the highest share of any state.
Around 224 megawatts of new wind energy generating capacity were scheduled to come online in 2023, and there’s plenty of room to grow.
According to EIA, the strongest winds occur in northwestern Iowa, where most of the wind farms are concentrated. That leaves much of the rest of the state to accommodate new wind farms.
As the Public News Service noted, Iowa has been a national leader in wind energy for decades. Today, environmental leaders have set a new target: becoming a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035.
Photo Courtesy Iowa Environmental Council
Although wind is Iowa’s primary renewable energy source, the state has also made strides in other clean energy technologies.
In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that Iowa City Municipal Airport would receive $442,800 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to finance a solar panel project. According to a press release on the Iowa City Government website, the funding is part of a larger FAA program that will issue more than $240 million in infrastructure grants nationwide.
Photo Courtesy The City of Iowa Government
The grant money for Iowa City Municipal Airport will be used to install a solar project to offset the electrical energy required to operate the runway, terminal, and building lighting. The project will feature a solar array of more than 300 panels and should cut the site’s electrical utility costs by about 50%, Michael Tharp, airport manager, told the (Iowa City) Gazette.
