Iowa Wind Power

[FallOf81]

Wasn't aware the state generated 42% from wind. Highest in nation. My guess would have been 5 to 10%

MidAmerican Energy takes 46 wind turbines offline after blades fall in rural Iowa

The Des Moines-based subsidiary of Warren Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway says it will inspect the wind turbines for safety.

www.desmoinesregister.com

 

[Al_4_State]

I can probably see 100 windmills at the moment.

 

[Stormin]

I can probably see 100 windmills at the moment.

Lots of them in my County. None visible from inside my house. None visible from my yard. Have to drive several miles in the country to see them from a distance. And the best part is that the property taxes the windmills pay end up reducing my property taxes. My property taxes would be 10% higher if there were no windmills. Thanks.

 

[madguy30]

A couple of years ago I was driving I-80 and saw several trailers with those turbines being hauled around. Things are huge.

 

[mkadl]

Lots of them in my County. None visible from inside my house. None visible from my yard. Have to drive several miles in the country to see them from a distance. And the best part is that the property taxes the windmills pay end up reducing my property taxes. My property taxes would be 10% higher if there were no windmills. Thanks.

If the County TIF ed the windmills you wont see the reduction for 20 years from implementation. tax increment financing. If they rebuilt roads they probably TIFed the windmills.

 

[chuckd4735]

If the County TIF ed the windmills you wont see the reduction for 20 years from implementation. tax increment financing. If they rebuilt roads they probably TIFed the windmills.

Infrastructure projects get paid for by taxpayers. If they are using TIF dollars rather than increasing the debt levy, than that still helps you the tax payer.

 

[mkadl]

Infrastructure projects get paid for by taxpayers. If they are using TIF dollars rather than increasing the debt levy, than that still helps you the tax payer.

Serious question. The dollars captured by tif to improve the roads. It does not decrease the tax dollars asked by budgets, does it? Every entity that depends on tax dollars doesn't get the dollars for 20 years. It is all spent on the infrastructure to maintaintain the windmills. I am pro windmills but anti TIF in rural areas. There may be some exceptions. Am I missing something?

 

[arobb]

If the County TIF ed the windmills you wont see the reduction for 20 years from implementation. tax increment financing. If they rebuilt roads they probably TIFed the windmills.

They'll probably be outdated, defunct technology not too long after that. IMHO these things will be the Harvestores of the future. Non-functional at some point, but too big to tear down.

 

[chuckd4735]

Serious question. The dollars captured by tif to improve the roads. It does not decrease the tax dollars asked by budgets, does it? Every entity that depends on tax dollars doesn't get the dollars for 20 years. It is all spent on the infrastructure to maintaintain the windmills. I am pro windmills but anti TIF in rural areas. There may be some exceptions. Am I missing something?

It does not decrease any money given to tax jurisdictions. It just freezes the current valuation, and sets aside the incremental valuation for projects outlined in the Urban Renewal Plan.

 

[flycy]

I've heard Buffet is pretty ticked about how the windmills are turning out. They aren't lasting any where near their projected lifespans. Tax credits are spread out over the lifespan so they run out early when they are decommissioned early and Berkshire is taking in the shorts. It's also disingenuous to say 42% of Iowa's electricity comes from wind. Wind doesn't necessarily produce when you need it so much of it is wasted.

 

[BCClone]

I've heard Buffet is pretty ticked about how the windmills are turning out. They aren't lasting any where near their projected lifespans. Tax credits are spread out over the lifespan so they run out early when they are decommissioned early and Berkshire is taking in the shorts. It's also disingenuous to say 42% of Iowa's electricity comes from wind. Wind doesn't necessarily produce when you need it so much of it is wasted.

They say these things are supposed to be 30 year life’s and then they replace hubs and blades. I honestly haven’t seen any make it past 10-15 before the crane starts replacing that stuff.

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

Lots of them in my County. None visible from inside my house. None visible from my yard. Have to drive several miles in the country to see them from a distance. And the best part is that the property taxes the windmills pay end up reducing my property taxes. My property taxes would be 10% higher if there were no windmills. Thanks.

Walmart pays taxes. Thanks to Walmart for reducing my property taxes.

 

[motorcy90]

I've heard Buffet is pretty ticked about how the windmills are turning out. They aren't lasting any where near their projected lifespans. Tax credits are spread out over the lifespan so they run out early when they are decommissioned early and Berkshire is taking in the shorts. It's also disingenuous to say 42% of Iowa's electricity comes from wind. Wind doesn't necessarily produce when you need it so much of it is wasted.

your right they are lasting longer then even expected for the majority, yeah you might have a few that end up with issues (like all manufactured goods) the average life expectancy is bumping up more and more to the 25-30 year expectancy currently.

Yes Iowa has gotten up to even 50% of the required power from the wind on any given day. it would be great if we had a truly smart grid nation wide instead of the patchwork network we currently have. renewables backed by nuclear base or even just nuclear in general would be great

 

[CyArob]

They'll probably be outdated, defunct technology not too long after that. IMHO these things will be the Harvestores of the future. Non-functional at some point, but too big to tear down.

Pretty sure they currently can't recycle the old blades based on the big pile of them near Ellsworth.

 

[Neptune78]

They'll probably be outdated, defunct technology not too long after that. IMHO these things will be the Harvestores of the future. Non-functional at some point, but too big to tear down.

Nothing in the farmer's contract that the company is responsible to remove them when they are no longer functional?

 

[flycy]

your right they are lasting longer then even expected for the majority, yeah you might have a few that end up with issues (like all manufactured goods) the average life expectancy is bumping up more and more to the 25-30 year expectancy currently.

Yes Iowa has gotten up to even 50% of the required power from the wind on any given day. it would be great if we had a truly smart grid nation wide instead of the patchwork network we currently have. renewables backed by nuclear base or even just nuclear in general would be great

Wind turbines 'only lasting for half as long as previously thought' as study shows they show signs of wearing out after just 12 years

A study of almost 3,000 turbines in Britain – the largest of its kind – sheds doubt on manufacturers claims that they generate clean energy for up to 25 years, which is used by the Government to calculate subsidies.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Really? This is a British article, but lines up with what someone I know who works on them for MidAmerican says. More like 12 years, not the 25 manufactures claim. Claims by those selling these are going up, but from what I have heard, not happening in reality. Nuclear to stabilize everything would be great though.

 

[BCClone]

Nothing in the farmer's contract that the company is responsible to remove them when they are no longer functional?

Nope. They are supposed to but you know how that goes. In a meeting someone asked about what if the company goes bankrupt? They said that there is a lot of iron that could be scraped out in one. Made it sound like I could just go out there with my torch or hack saw and just cut it down.

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

Lots of them in my County. None visible from inside my house. None visible from my yard. Have to drive several miles in the country to see them from a distance. And the best part is that the property taxes the windmills pay end up reducing my property taxes. My property taxes would be 10% higher if there were no windmills. Thanks.

You and I and everyone else are paying a fortune in taxes for those windmills.

Over $100 billion has already been spent on renewables subsidies.

Renewable energy resources—primarily wind and solar—have received subsidies through the tax code since 1979, most of which have occurred in the last decade. Through 2018, these subsidies amounted to more than $100 billion. This amount is far in excess of federal assistance received by other electricity sources. And for perspective, this exceeds the combined 2020 budgets for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

[motorcy90]

Wind turbines 'only lasting for half as long as previously thought' as study shows they show signs of wearing out after just 12 years

A study of almost 3,000 turbines in Britain – the largest of its kind – sheds doubt on manufacturers claims that they generate clean energy for up to 25 years, which is used by the Government to calculate subsidies.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Really? This is a British article, but lines up with what someone I know who works on them for MidAmerican says. More like 12 years, not the 25 manufactures claim. Claims by those selling these are going up, but from what I have heard, not happening in reality. Nuclear to stabilize everything would be great though.

that is for a lot of the older towers yes. many of them don't have the modern sensors on them that help with predictive maintenance. the towers I work on are going on 10 years old now and besides replacing wear items like hoses and clamps, are still in great condition, and that is even with some lack of care from previous techs and managers. We just did our first blade change out this last winter and that was due to lightning damage (cause of the two blade failures for Mid-Am) and that blade is being repaired for future use if need be. currently wind is one of if not the cheapest option for energy and the fastest expanding markets are South America China and India because of it.

 

[motorcy90]

You and I and everyone else are paying a fortune in taxes for those windmills.

Over $100 billion has already been spent on renewables subsidies.

Renewable energy resources—primarily wind and solar—have received subsidies through the tax code since 1979, most of which have occurred in the last decade. Through 2018, these subsidies amounted to more than $100 billion. This amount is far in excess of federal assistance received by other electricity sources. And for perspective, this exceeds the combined 2020 budgets for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

how does that compare to the gas and oil subsidies??

Fossil Fuel Subsidies - Oil Change International

priceofoil.org