WIND IS A CASH CROP IN IOWA

Winds of Change: Farmers find profits blowing in the wind
Jim Offner, November 28, 2011 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

"…Tim Hemphill…sets aside three [of his 1,680 acres] for two wind-turbine towers…[and] collects $20,000 a year…[T]he checks will flow in quarterly for the run of a 30-year contract…

"Iowa is [second behind Texas in U.S. wind energy production and] home to 80 wind installations [with 1,999 wind turbines that produce nearly 2,800 megawatts of electricity. It] has more than 50 manufacturers in the wind supply chain…Professional service businesses throughout the state also have expanded to meet the demand from the wind industry…Turbine towers still pale in comparison to cornstalks as dominant features of Iowa's rural landscape, but they are gaining ground…"


(June 2011 poll shows Iowans to be sensible folks - click to enlarge)

"For farmers and their surrounding communities, it translates to "green" in more than energy…[W]ind farms have $11 million in annual landowner lease payments…[Local communities benefit from businesses and] construction workers spending money…[from] property taxes… and [from] hundreds of millions of dollars that are invested in manufacturing facilities…

"There are trade-offs…[but, academic studies find that on] balance, it's a gain…[because] the income potential wind towers bring to farmers is considerable…[It is an] estimated $7,500 per year, per two-turbine towers…[though farmers do] lose an element of control over their land…"