Wind energy is booming in Iowa, and backers say it's only the beginning. ...But the jobs could blow away, economists warn, just as other manufacturing jobs have disappeared because of competition and technological change. Other states want to attract manufacturers, too. Wind power depends on subsidies, and changes in government policies could dampen the enthusiasm for wind. ...John Solow, a University of Iowa economics professor, is cautiously optimistic about the future for wind generation and turbine manufacturing. Future policy decisions and technological innovations could change that, he said. A breakthrough in clean-burning coal, for example, could reduce interest in wind energy and biofuels, he said.

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Gov. Chet Culver on March 29 outlined one of his key legislative proposals - the Iowa Power Fund. At stops in Cedar Rapids and Ankeny, the governor presented his vision for the future of renewable energy in Iowa, and laid out specific proposals to keep Iowa ahead in the race to become the renewable energy capital of the world. "Today, Iowa begins taking the lead in the race to become the energy capital of the world," said Culver. "Our $100 million Iowa Power Fund will allow Iowa to invest in and attract cutting edge research and development. "It will allow our state to be involved in commercialization of emerging technologies. It will allow existing companies to expand and grow to meet the needs of emerging markets. It will help us create the jobs of the future that will keep your kids and my kids here in Iowa where they belong. This effort is at the heart of the 21st Century Iowa Expedition I have called on all Iowans to join."

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The Board of Supervisors moved closer on Tuesday to a wind energy ordinance that could attract renewable energy businesses to Floyd County. The Supervisors passed the first reading of an ordinance which would offer a tax exemption to new wind farms or turbines. Wind energy producers would receive a tax exemption on a 20-year, sliding scale. The first year of operation the owner would be taxed on zero percent of the net acquisition costs, adding five percent until year seven, when the rate would stay at 30 percent. No comments were given during a public hearing on the ordinance.

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The Floyd County Board of Supervisors is considering an ordinance that would offer tax breaks for the installation of wind energy turbines. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 13 in the board of supervisors room at the Floyd County Courthouse. The board reviewed wind energy ordinances from Franklin, Mitchell and Cerro Gordo counties recently before setting the public hearing. The state of Iowa allows cities and counties to set a sliding scale for assessment of wind energy conversion property, according to Floyd County Assessor Bruce Hovden.

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The Floyd County Board of Supervisors plan to put an ordinance into place offering tax incentives to new wind energy operations. A wind energy ordinance was discussed during the Supervisors’ regular meeting on Tuesday and during a workshop on Monday. “We plan on developing an ordinance in case anybody wants to come in and build a wind farm,” said Supervisor Leo Staudt. While the ordinance is still in the works, it would offer tax relief to new wind farms or turbines moving into Floyd County. Wind energy producers would receive a tax exemption on a 20-year, sliding scale. In the first year of operation, the owner would be taxed on zero percent of the net acquisition costs, adding five percent until year seven, when the rate would stay at 30 percent.

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Iowa’s municipal utilities announced plans Friday to build a $200 million power plant west of Dallas Center that will store wind energy in the ground and use it to generate up to 268 megawatts of electricity. The announcement is a culmination of more than four years of study and research by the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities and others, although operation of the plant is still several years away. Construction would begin in 2009 with completion expected in 2011, said John Bilsten, general manager of Algona Municipal Utilities and vice president of the newly formed Iowa Stored Energy Park Agency. Only two similar wind storage plants are in existence, one in Germany and the other in Alabama. Both are about half the size of the plant planned for Dallas County, Bilsten said.

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Two Wisconsin electric utilities on Wednesday signed agreements to tap power for their customers from a wind farm under development in north central Iowa. Madison Gas & Electric Co. said it plans to invest $56 million to buy 18 wind turbines and develop a portion of the Top of Iowa Phase II wind power project. The utility signed a contract with Midwest Renewable Energy Projects LLC, the developer of the project near Mason City, Iowa. The Madison-based utility said the deal would enable about 5% of the utility’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources. That would be enough for MG&E to comply three years ahead of schedule with the first phase of the state’s first renewable power mandate.

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He says the deal will help build a wind turbine in Winnebago County, where electricity generated will be put on the power "grid" and sold to the buyers in Chicago.

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Erie and Sherrard school districts in the Illinois Quad-City area are closer to being powered by wind energy.

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