As a result of our focus, Iowa now leads the country in the share of wind generated electricity, and is second in installed capacity. The 4000 towers in Iowa now produce enough electricity to power 1.85 million homes.
This low-cost, easily accessible, energy is obviously good for a company's bottom line, and it has led to $13.5 billion in capital investment in Iowa. For example, just this year, MidAmerican Utilities committed to the construction of two more wind farms in Iowa, and earlier this week, announced a major maintenance operation for hundreds of towers in the state. But the impact of our green energy economy goes beyond utilities; only a few weeks ago, Apple chose to build a massive data farm in Iowa – a $1.3 billion effort - joining Google, Microsoft and Facebook in our state. Chief among the reasons they came to Iowa? Clean, affordable energy, and a corporate decision to engage in environmentally sound practices: in short, they want to be green, and we are helping to give them a way to do it.
But our economic growth is not limited to new companies coming into Iowa. Long-standing Iowa employers are staying in our state as a result – and expanding. Companies like John Deere, Hy-Vee, Kemin, and Principal are making huge investments in infrastructure, new plants and buildings.
This is what a 21st century wind economy looks like!
The opportunities in wind and renewables are clear. It is also now as important as ever, to be vigilant in identifying and meeting the challenges to the industry, too – because challenges do exist. Some are technical – questions about transmission, for example. Some are strictly policy decisions, like the future of the production tax credit. The answers to these questions will not come automatically. But the history of wind and renewable energy has shown, that good public policy can help grow private sector jobs for people all over the country.
Iowa's story is a remarkable narrative. It is made possible by decades of public-private partnerships, bipartisan policy decisions, and business practices that have shown that job creation, business growth, and sound environmental policies can go hand-in-hand.
But most of all, our story belongs to the men and women who go to work every day to build out the new energy economy in Iowa. Their skills and their commitment are what make possible our future of energy independence and economic growth. I believe the future of wind and renewable energy is truly unlimited – not just in Iowa, but in every state.
It is my sincere pleasure and honor to come to the Biden Institute to share Iowa's story with you. I want to thank Vice President Biden for his years of friendship to all Iowans, his lifelong efforts to strengthen the middle class in our country, and his relentless optimism for the future. As he says: "We are America – second to none."
I wholeheartedly agree!
Chet Culver is the Founder of the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm. He was the Governor of Iowa from 2007-2011.