Monday, April 13, 2009

Texas is king, but Iowa breezes past California

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Texas is king, but Iowa breezes past California
4/12/2009, 5:00 p.m. EDT
DIRK LAMMERS
(AP)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? Texas continues to blow away the competition, but Iowa can now generate more wind power than California, according to a new industry report to be released Monday.

The Lone Star state's 7,118 megawatts dwarfs Iowa's 2,791 megawatts and California's 2,517 megawatts, but wind power has grown into a key part of the energy infrastructure in Minnesota and Iowa, where each state generates more than 7 percent of their electricity from turbines, the American Wind Energy Association study said.

States are trying to lure wind energy companies and the jobs that come with them, especially with new federal requirements that will require more power from alternative sources in coming years.