where does iowa rank in wind energy production
seventh in the country
title: Wind power in Iowa text: the percentage of electrical power generated by wind, at 15.4 percent and 14.2 percent. This was up from 7.7 percent in 2008, as there was a large increase in the installed capacity in 2008. Some of the wind power generated electricity is sold to utility companies in nearby states, such as Wisconsin, and Illinois. Wind farms are most prevalent in the north and west portion of Iowa. Wind maps show the winds in these areas to be stronger on average, making them better suited for the development of wind energy. Average wind speeds are not consistent from month to month. title: Wind power in Iowa text: Wind power in Iowa Making up more than 35% of the state's generated electricity, Iowa is a leading U.S. state in wind power generation. The development of wind power in Iowa began with a state law, enacted in 1983, requiring investor owned utilities purchase 105 MW of power from wind generation. In 2016, over 20 billion kWh of electrical energy was generated by wind power, representing 36.6% of in state electricity production. As of February 2016, Iowa had over 6,974 megawatts (MW) of capacity. In addition to federal programs, the state of Iowa encourages development of renewable electricity sources through title: Wind power in Iowa text: Wind maps show wind speeds are on average strongest from November through April, peaking in March. August is the month with the weakest average wind speeds. On a daily cycle, there is a slight rise in average wind speeds in the afternoon, from 1 to 6 p.m. Estimates by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicate Iowa has potentially 570,700 Megawatts of wind power using large turbines mounted on 80 meter towers. Iowa ranks seventh in the country in terms of wind energy generation potential due to the strong average wind speeds in the midsection of the U.S. The Iowa title: Wind power in Iowa text: Environmental Mesonet distributes current weather and wind conditions from approximately 450 monitoring stations across Iowa, providing data for modelling and predicting wind power. The average capacity factor of Iowa wind farms has been estimated as 33.3% by a wind industry consultant. For newer installations, higher capacity factors, approaching 40%, have been stated. Production numbers for 2013, when wind capacity remained almost constant, showed a capacity factor over 34 percent. Due to these better wind conditions, Iowa generated more electricity from wind power in 2013 than California, even though it had less wind power capacity installed. And again in 2014 Iowa title: Iowa text: plants produced of fuel in 2009. Renewable energy has become a major economic force in northern and western Iowa, with wind turbine electrical generation increasing exponentally since 1990. In 2010, wind power in Iowa accounted for 15.4% of electrical energy produced, and 3675 megawatts of generating capacity had been installed at the end of the year. Iowa ranked first of U.S. states in percentage of total power generated by wind and second in wind generating capacity behind Texas. Major producers of turbines and components in Iowa include Acciona Energy of West Branch, TPI Composites of Newton, and Siemens Energy of