Investing in Iowa wind energy is worth the effort

Although Iowa leads the nation in wind energy production and the economic benefits are notable, there is considerable untapped potential.

Last year, Iowa generated 28.5 percent of its electricity from wind energy with 5,688 megawatts of wind from operating turbines, according to a study released this week by the Iowa Wind Energy Association. The number, while impressive, represents a tiny fraction - the group estimates around 1 percent - of potential wind energy generation in the state.

Producing the full potential could be good for Iowa and neighboring states by creating more jobs and allowing for wind energy exportation.

According to the study, in addition to improving the quality of our environment, wind energy is responsible for:

' Employing more than 6,000 Iowans in the manufacturing, operations and maintenance, and design and engineering sectors.

' Establishing Iowa as home to 14 manufacturers and 75 companies in the wind industry supply chain.

' Land lease payments totaling more than $16 million each year.

Iowa's investment in wind energy will make it a breeze for our state to comply with the proposed Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, which calls for Iowa to reduce carbon emissions by 16 percent by 2030.

Without the existing infrastructure and Iowa's optimal conditions, our neighbor states will not find it so easy to meet their own EPA clean power goals. That's why we are intrigued by the association's recommendation that Iowa build wind energy capacity enough to export to neighboring states, such as Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri. For those states, importing Iowa's clean energy would be easier and cheaper than generating their own. Those states stand to benefit from Iowa's $10 billion capital investment in wind energy.

Growing Iowa's wind energy capacity for export would not be without challenges. It would require investment to improve existing transmission systems and create new transmission lines - decisions, as we've seen with the discussions surrounding the Rock Island Clean Line - that are not always without controversy.

But the potential economic and environmental benefits make those conversations worth having, and those issues worth resolving.

Let's use our natural resource to prove we really do have fields of opportunities.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com