May 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Jim Offner Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

"Small wind" technology seems to be blowing across Iowa.

Wind power certainly seems to be energizing the political powers. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, for example, recently signed two bills -- one of which utilizes unused tax credits to promote small wind energy projects in Iowa, and the other, which lays out economic incentives for wind-component manufacturers who are looking at building or expanding in Iowa -- designed to expand the state's wind energy industry.

Iowa currently ranks second behind Texas in wind energy production, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Iowa is home to 1,999 wind turbines that produce nearly 2,800 megawatts of electricity each year, according to the governor's office.

Culver noted that Iowa is home to five major wind energy component manufacturers -- Acciona, Clipper, Siemens, TPI and Trinity.

Small wind energy, which stands in contrast to the utility-scale wind farms that are gaining a foothold across Iowa, is tailored for small-scale, even individual, use.

In the future, individual homes conceivably could have their own turbines.

That's certainly a goal of the American Wind Energy Association, said Ron Stimmel, small wind advocate with the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

"A small wind turbine can pay for itself in as little as five years," Stimmel said.

He said the average home system can cost between $10,000 and $60,000, depending on turbine size. But, Stimmel said, many states and the federal government have tax credits that can defray as much as 30 percent of the costs.

Tom Wind, owner of Jefferson-based Wind Utility Consulting, said incentives are crucial to the success of small wind projects.

"However, the payback period is typically not attractive to most homeowners," he said. "I'm finding it's typically beyond 10 years. Only those homeowners that really want to do something about their environmental impact or those homeowners that think electricity prices are going to skyrocket in the future and if they have enough money will go that way."

Local regulations seem to be short-circuiting those efforts, he said.

"There are six or seven states that have tried to address the problem," he said, adding that Wisconsin is the only Midwest state that has tried to harness the varying zoning ordinances into a workable, unified solution.

"As far as the market in Iowa, it has a lot of potential," Stimmel said. "You've got the land requirements you need. It's just a matter of state policies that would benefit wind energy."

Opponents of statewide standards say they would lead to a loss of local zoning control, particularly in towns that have tighter restrictions on height limits and noise emissions.

Indeed, Stimmel said, there are barriers to individuals planting 80-foot turbines in their yards.

"You need about an acre or more to get adequate wind speeds, so you have to make sure your site isn't too cluttered," he said.

Short of that, communities can generate their own power through wind turbines.

Waverly, in fact, is the first city in the Midwest to own and operate a wind turbine, said Diane Johnson, manager with Waverly Light and Power.

There are challenges to relying on wind power, but the payoff is clear, Johnson said.

"We continue to believe wind power for Waverly is particularly a good thing for our customers," Johnson said.

Waverly has three turbines -- including two new units that service about 260 homes each. Another, whose activation was delayed in February when a blade broke loose, is due to be operational at midyear.

"The way we've done our last three turbines is, we connect them to our local transmission and distribution systems, so we don't incur costs to send that power over a long distance," Johnson said.

On balance, the city's small wind system is an advantage, Johnson said.

"For us wind power is a great way to create renewable energy and stabilize prices to some degree," she said. "Once those turbines are up, the savings kick in."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.

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