Study: Wind energy keeps Iowa power costs down

[progressoid]

Study: Wind energy keeps Iowa power costs down

By MIKE GLOVER
DES MOINES, Iowa

Wind energy accounts for up to 20 percent of Iowa's total electricity production, and is helping to keep the state's power costs among the lowest in the nation, a study released Wednesday showed.

Authors of the study said it debunks arguments that alternative energy and other measures to combat climate change are too expensive. The study was conducted by the Iowa Policy Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization based in Iowa City.

"Those people who tell us we can't do anything about global climate change because it will be too expensive are wrong, Iowa is proving it wrong," said David Osterberg, an Iowa Policy Project researcher and one of the authors of the study.

...snip...

Coal-fired plants produce about 75 percent of the state's electricity, and there is one nuclear plant in the state.

In examining electricity costs, the study found that Iowans paid about 6 cents per kilowatt hour in 1998. That climbed to 7 cents per kilowatt hour by 2008. Over the same time period, national average electricity costs went from 7 cents per kilowatt hour to nearly 10 cents.

"Amidst Iowa's massive expansion of wind power, our average electricity prices have remained below the national average and in fact have not increased as quickly as the national average price in the last four years," the study said.

...snip...
more at: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E7AK5G0.htm

The Iowa Policy Project report shows Iowa’s wind industry is generating nearly 3700 megawatts of power annually. ”We can’t say exactly where this generation is being consumed,” Galluzzo says. “But if it were all to be consumed in Iowa it would serve the equivalent of 75 percent of our homes with this capacity.”

According to Iowa Policy Project executive director David Osterberg, wind turbines in the state now generate nearly six times as much power as the state’s lone nuclear plant. “There’s a load of wind out there that can be gleaned,” Osterberg says, “and we’re just beginning to scratch the surface even at 20 percent.”


http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/03/03/up-to-20-percent-of-iowa-electricity-from-wind/

ETA link to study: http://www.iowapolicyproject.org/2010docs/100303-IPP-wind.pdf

[wtmusic]

1. Iowa sees nuclear as opportunity to reduce carbon emissions

"A bipartisan group of legislators have reached agreement on a bill that would encourage development of nuclear energy in Iowa. Utilities would be able to add a surcharge to electric bills to pay for location and feasibility studies over the next three years.

Rep. Chuck Soderberg, R-LeMars, said increasing coal and natural gas use will limit the ability of the state to meet carbon emission reduction goals. He added that with regard to the rate increase, the state’ PUC ‘Consumer Advocate’ had signed off on the legislation.

Environmental groups were muted in their opposition partially because another portion of the bill provides incentives for coal-fired plants to swap out coal for biomass fuels."

http://theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/59872

They go together.

[kristopher]

2. Bipartisan for nuclear? Not really, that is just your spin.

The bill isn't for nuclear power, it is for a range of energy related projects that includes a STUDY for determining the POSSIBILITY of building a nuclear power plant, and the RATEPAYERS are being charged IN ADVANCE for the privilege of helping the nuclear industry rip them off even more at a later date.

...utilities would be allowed to levy a surcharge on its customers’ electric bills for three years to pay for a study that would determine whether it’s possible to build a new nuclear power plant in Iowa. ....If the bill becomes law, MidAmerican could use those new customer dollars to conduct the extensive seismic, weather, and population studies that are needed before a nuclear power plant can be built.

Tell me, is MidAmerican a corporate entity? If they want to build a nuclear power plant, why aren't they paying for the study themselves? Does the state charge ratepayers for the studies done to site renewable energy facilities? I don't think so.

And to construe the blurb you've posted as evidence that everyone is ok with nuclear is pure nonsense.

The “working group” of three Democrats and two Republicans are hoping their bill gets broader support from other legislators. Environmental groups, so far, haven’t tried to stop the bill. Nathaniel Baer of the Iowa Environmental Council says his group does have serious economic and environmental concerns about nuclear power.

“We think that if the legislature is going to more forward on energy policy this legislative session nuclear power shouldn’t be a priority,” Baer says. “It should be low on the list.” But Baer’s group is registered as “undecided” on the bill, in part because they like another portion of the bill that gives utilities incentives to turn their existing coal-powered plants into cleaner-burning facilities using natural gas or biomass...

http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/02/26/tentative-agreement-reached-on-nuclear-energy-bill/

[kristopher]

3. These high wind states are only beginning to realize the wealth they possess. nt

[Nihil]

4. Especially for the areas that have mile after mile of crop fields ...

... as the landscape is already unnatural and so has far less
validity for any "Don't Spoil My View" NIMBY arguments against
them ...

:thumbsup: