Wind Power Facts

We get most of our electricity in Iowa from wind AND we pay among the lowest average price for electricity

Iowa gets 62% of its electricity form wind – the highest share of wind generation in the U.S.

We are among the 10 states with the lowest average electricity prices.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Taxpayers pay less thanks to wind

Wind projects (and solar projects) make substantial local tax payments. For example, a wind farm in O’Brien County in Northwest Iowa pays 8 times more in taxes than the county’s next largest taxpayer.

As a result, O’Brien County’s tax rates plummeted from the third highest in the region to the third lowest.

Source: Center for Infrastructure and Economic Development

Wind powers Iowa jobs

8,961 jobs in Iowa are supported on average each year from wind energy investment and construction.

Source:  Iowa Conservative Energy Forum

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Wind energy is reliable revenue for Iowa’s farmers

Iowa farmers received $74.6 million in land lease payments from wind and other clean energy projects in 2022.

Source: American Clean Power Association

Wind Power is Safe

  • Numerous turbines along the path of the tragic Greenfield tornado remained standing. The collapse of some turbines after taking a direct hit from the tornado is rare; of the 6,400 wind turbines in Iowa only a few were damaged by this storm.
  • Wind power is not a risk to human health - dozens of independent, peer-reviewed studies conducted around the world, including the U.S., have consistently found no evidence that wind farms cause any negative physical health effects.
  • Wind power is far less harmful to wildlife than traditional energy sources it displaces, including to birds and their critical habitats. Overall, wind causes less than 0.01% of all human-related bird deaths. Other causes include buildings (550 million), power lines (130 million), cars (80 million), pesticide poisoning, (67 million), and radio and cell towers (6.8 million).

Source: American Clean Power Association

Find out what Iowa’s leaders are saying about renewable energy – and why.

"Wind is a critical part of our nation's all of the above energy strategy. It creates thousands of jobs, supports economic development, boosts tax receipts, attracts investment in our state and puts extra money in farmers' pockets."
Chuck Grassley
Senator Chuck Grassley
Read More

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