LAKE PARK, IA -
You can hear the swift sound of movement as the turbine blades cut through the wind at this wind farm near Lake Park, Iowa.
It's clean and efficient, and growing faster than any other energy source in the U.S.
"Iowa's 5100 installed megawatts are the equivalent to taking 13 million cars off the road," says Iowa Wind Energy Association Executive Director Harold Prior.
That's also equal to powering 85 million 60–watt light bulbs, and if you can believe it, the Iowa Wind Energy Association hopes to quadruple that 5100 megawatts by 2030.
If you're even considering a future in wind production, now is the time to get your turbines in a row.
In 2012, producers received a 2.2 cent tax credit for every kilowatt hour produced.
But now, the federal government added new "in progress" language to the extension passed as part of the fiscal cliff deal, which basically gives wind producers a year to get their facilities in check.
As long as they begin the construction before 2014, they'll still get that tax credit.
"It's going to open up another short term boom in the development of wind farm projects. There were a number of large projects and medium size projects that are already financed, they've done their power of purchase agreements, They've done all their permitting requirements. They just weren't sure they could get their product to the site and get the wind farm constructed before the end of December 2012. So they put those projects on hold," says Prior.
But now, Prior says, producers can get back on the bandwagon.
It's the first step in the growth of the wind industry here in the Hawkeye State.
But the Iowa Wind Energy Association is lobbying for a longer extension: they want it locked in for the next ten years.
And in half that time, the wind industry predicts it will be at the top of its game; functioning without the help of any subsidies.
Prior says, there's a valid equity argument on the table.
"If other generators, like coal, oil or natural gas and nuclear are continuing to get tax subsidies through the tax code, or outside the tax code, then our argument is, look, let's have all the generators of electricity on a level playing field. So, if you're going to eliminate the subsidy for wind energy, than how about we eliminate the subsidy for all generators of electricity, and allow all of us to compete on a level playing field," he says.
He says that would also help reduce the federal deficit.
Wind turbines currently generate roughly 20 percent of all the electricity produced in Iowa, enough to power more than 1.1 million homes.
