MidAmerican plans world's largest wind farm in Iowa

Quad City Times ^ | March 25, 2003 | Kathie Obradovich

[newgeezer]

Hey, Guv, Iowa already is clearly all over the renewable (wind) energy map, ya liberal ignoramus.

Two hundred of these huge turbines will be quite a sight.

[bucephalus]

The quicker we move beyond the oil paradigm and get into feasible alternative energy sources, the sooner the Saddamites and scabs of the House of Saud will be screwed. A giant windfall of oil and they made a sewer of it. (Islam really does seem like a dowsing rod for oil though, doesn't it?)

[newgeezer]

bump

[Lael]

The 300-megawatt-capacity plant would be the first of its kind in the world, Haug said, because it would combine wind energy with a system that would store compressed air in an underground aquifer.

This monstrosity will increase "GLOBAL WARMING"!!!

It will suck energy from the wind which cools the land!!

I'll INSIST on the MOTHER OF ALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS!!!

ROTFLMAO!!!

[scan59]

Thank God for good ol' American ingenuity.

We've got to get off the Saudis' tit.

[boris]

"The quicker we move beyond the oil paradigm and get into feasible alternative energy sources, the sooner the Saddamites and scabs of the House of Saud will be screwed."

Which "feasible" alternative energy sources do you have in mind? Wind and solar are too dilute to qualify as 'feasible'. Read the article carefully. The sum they are spending could build a 1000-megawatt nuclear plant; they will instead get 93 megawatts on average. What a cool idea!

I agree that we must detach from arab oil (or make all the arabs go away). The two keys to doing that are: (1) Nuclear power and (2) Methane clathrates ("methane hydrates"). The clathrates lie on the sea bottom on the continental shelf; they contain more energy than all of the coal, oil, and natural gas in the world.

--Boris

[stboz]

It will suck energy from the wind which cools the land!!

Oh! No! If energy is taken from the wind which cools the land, it will cool the land even more! Oh, gosh, oh, golly, Global Winter is inevitable!!!

I'm moving back to Floriduh.

[stboz]

The clathrates lie on the sea bottom on the continental shelf; they contain more energy than all of the coal, oil, and natural gas in the world.

By a factor of four by some estimates.

[Ben Hecks]

I take it that this wind farm will be located adjacent to the Harkin Ranch.

[newgeezer]

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[The Great RJ]

The problem with wind mills as electric generators is the wind doesn't always blow when you need the electricity. A gale at 2:00 am doesn't serve much purpose nor does a dead calm on a blistering Iowa summer afternoon.

Wind mills alone will not be able to support the elctricity demands of society. Nuclear power is clean and efficient, but the development of new plants using better than the 1960's technology we currently use has all but been halted by the environmentalist wackos. Even the development of a coal fired plant takes 10+ years to develop and come on line because of all the environmental paperwork.

[biblewonk]

It will suck energy from the wind which cools the land!!

That's a good one! LOL. A joke but a good one.

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

Tom BallSack is the quintessential (Ya Me Too) liberal. The wonderful state of Iowa is turning into the wunderfull welfare state of Iowa. We don't elect leaders we elect check writers. The Communist State of Minnesota is becoming more conservative than us.

[biblewonk]

Thanks for the post, this is excellent news and an answered prayer. Iowa leads the country in installed watts per person even before this one. I wish they'd build a wind farm closer to CR.

[biblewonk]

This wind farm should make about 700 gwhr/year which is about 42 million dollar worth of electricity at 6 cents per kwhr.

[rudypoot]

Yeah, but the enviro-wackos will find an endangered field mouse in the area and file a lawsuit to block construction. They did this sort of thing in Washington state. You can never satisfy these people.

[biblewonk]

The sum they are spending could build a 1000-megawatt nuclear plant;

No it couldn't.

[Young Werther]

Scientific American Sept 1990 was titled "Energy for Planet Earth." The statistics for windmills were awesome. 13 years later it's only better. Build 2,000,000 windmills, (in 1990 which is now less because of generator improvements), from North Dakota to Texas, (the Plains States!) and you could generate ALL of the electrical needs for the US.

I know! Wind is not constant! However, if you overbuild the capacity you can feed the power grid and everyone gets their juice.

In 1995 Scientific American updated their projections and stated that 75% of electricity could be generated by just North and South Dakota! The Plains States now had the capacity to produce 250% of the electrical needs. Now the overcapcity exists.

I sent a proposal to Bob Dole for the '96 election. I suggested that he sould propose this windmill building project using the same federal/local cooperation that built the Interstate Highway System. Using American ingenuity we would accomplish this project in 5 years and then we would have true energy independence and we could tell the Oil Cartel to "eat sand".

[biblewonk]

Yeah, but the enviro-wackos will find an endangered field mouse in the area and file a lawsuit to block construction. They did this sort of thing in Washington state. You can never satisfy these people.

Nope, we already have a 200 mw wind farm very near where this one will be built and everyone is happy about it. Clean energy and 3000 bucks per turbine for farmers.

[bullseye1911]

MidAmerican Energy Co. announced plans Tuesday to build the largest wind farm in the world at a site in northwest or north-central Iowa to be selected in the next few months.

...It has yet to be determined how Democratic Party Headquarters can be convinced to relocate here.