Iowa is No. 1 in the Nation in Wind Energy

If you've ever driven literally anywhere in the state of Iowa, you've seen the massive windmills we have scattered throughout the vast farmland that is our state.

If you're a regular reader on our website, you know the production of wind turbines is important, and the shutting down of these factories is also coming more and more frequently for a variety of reasons.

Despite the recent factory closings, a report that surfaced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shared that "In 2020, three-fifths of Iowa's total electricity net generation came from renewable resources, almost all of it from wind. The state was the second-largest wind power producer, after Texas. Wind energy powered 57% of Iowa's net generation, the highest share of any state, as about 1,500 megawatts of new wind power generating capacity came online in 2020."

Considering Iowa is one of the ten states that the National Severe Storms Laboratory considers to be 'Tornado Alley,' it shouldn't come as any surprise that wind energy is a focus in the Hawkeye State. The strongest winds generate in northwest Iowa, according to the EIA,  and "and although there are wind power farms across the state, most are in the state's northern and western areas."

The site continues, referencing the other forms of renewable energy that powered Iowa in 2020: "About 2% of Iowa's electricity net generation came from renewable energy resources other than wind, with hydroelectric power, solar energy, and biomass each contributing a small amount of the state's electricity."

In regards to other forms of renewable energy, the administration states: "Iowa is the top ethanol-producing state in the nation and has one-fourth of total U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity. The state's ethanol plants can produce nearly 4.5 billion gallons per year. Iowa's fertile cornfields provide the feedstock for most of the state's 42 ethanol plants."

Though ethanol remains classified as a renewable source of energy, a recent study claimed that it is worse for the climate than natural gas.