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Iowa Eyes Concrete to

Blow Past 27% Wind
Power Mark
We were just talking about GEs new taller
wind turbine tower, which will hit the market
next week at a whopping 139 meters, when
along comes the latest American Wind
Energy Association wind power report
showing that the great state of Iowa now gets
about 27 percent of its electricity from wind.
With the tallest turbine in Iowa reaching only
94 meters, imagine whats going to happen to
Iowa wind power production when taller wind
turbine towers get into the ground.
Now, heres where it gets interesting. We had
a great sneak peek at GEs new taller wind
turbine tower earlier this week, and while we
were talking with the folks over there the
subject of taller wind turbine towers made with
concrete came up. It just so happens Iowa is
home to at least two of the larger cement
plants in the US (concrete is cement mixed
with an aggregate), so lets take a quick look
back at what we learned from GE in terms of
materials and the cost of wind power.
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Wind turbine in Iowa by inkknife_2000.
Low Cost Wind Power And
Taller Wind Turbine
Towers
Our visit to GE took us to the Mohave desert,
where the company has built a 97-meter
prototype (limited to 97 by FAA regulations) for
the 139-meter commercial version of its new
Space Frame steel turbine tower. One key
takeaway from our conversation there was the
influence of factors on the cost of wind power
other than the efficiency of the turbine itself.
In terms of the wind turbine tower, those other
factors include raw materials, shipping, and
labor, all of which can curtail height to cost-
effective dimensions.
Within the shipping costs you also find a
whole tangle of complications. One key factor
there is the configuration of roads, bridges,
and tunnels.
Thats why, GE pointed out to us, youre not
going to see much in the way of tubular-style
wind turbine towers with a base larger than
the current standard. Right now, the industry
is conforming to the size of components that
can get from point A to point B on a flatbed
hauler, and with the size of the base curtailed,
youre not going to gain much in height from
here on out.
Thats where GEs solution comes in. Its a
steel space frame (thats an engineering term
for latticework) tower and instead of coming in
a tube it has five distinct sides that are
assembled on site. It can be flatpacked for
transit, and the whole thing fits into standard
shipping containers.
Another solution already on the market is to
build all or part of the tower from concrete,
though given the logistics involved with
concrete thats not a one-size-fits-all solution.
It could be more cost-effective in regions
where a cement plant is handy, and thats
where Iowa comes in.
Iowa And Taller Wind
Towers
Iowa has four Portland cement sites, two of
which are listed by the US EPA as among the
larger cement plants in the country. It makes
sense to give the local industry a boost and
that is exactly what has been going on.
Just last May we noticed that researchers at
Iowa State University are working on stress
tests for a concrete wind turbine tower.
Though their goal of 100 meters falls short of
the GE Space Frame mark, its well above the
currently typical range of 80 meters. The
research has been funded by the states Grow
Iowa Values economic development fund.
Also with the states cement facilities in mind,
back in 2011 Spain-based Acciona
Windpower announced plans for
building concrete wind turbine towers in
Iowa. We dont have an update on that project
but the company does have a turbine with a
120-meter concrete tower on the market.
Iowa At 27% Wind Power
Iowa is one of eleven states that are part of
MISO, a regional grid operator that is very
keen on wind power. Iowa Governor Terry
Branstad (R) has also been an aggressive
champion for extending the production tax
credit for wind power, despite his partys
marked lack of enthusiasm.
Those are two key factors driving the states
growth in wind power. According to the latest
report from the American Wind Energy
Association (AWEA), wind power accounted
for 27 percent of the total electricity production
in the state in 2013.
It looks like we aint seen nothing yet. Another
key factor in Iowas wind energy growth is
Warren Buffet, the well known investor. His
MidAmerican Energy company is already
heavily involved in the Iowa wind industry and
just last year he announced that he would
pour another $1.9 billion into new wind farms
in Iowa.
Note: for the record, we got that figure of 94
meters for Iowas tallest wind turbine tower
from the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State
(it happens to be a GE project, coincidentally).
If you know of a taller one in the state, please
let us know in the comment thread.
Follow me on Twitter and Google+.
Keep up with all the wind industry news
from CleanTechnica: subscribe to our
Wind Power newsletter.

Tags: concrete
wind turbine
towers, Iowa wind power, taller wind
turbine towers
About the Author
Tina Casey Tina Casey
specializes in military and
corporate sustainability,
advanced technology,
emerging materials, biofuels,
and water and wastewater issues. Tinas
articles are reposted frequently on Reuters,
Scientific American, and many other sites. You
can also follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey
and Google+ .
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