Iowa is beautiful, but ... (Colo: buy, community college, living in)

[orthosophy]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

I'd stake my future on something a little more certain if I were you. Must be nice to be able to "retire" at age 38.

an as an aside, he's not retiring, he's changing jobs. He spent 20 years serving the US. Try showing a little respect.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

Green energy is the future? Who told you that? The only energy industries able to stand on their own are the traditional coal, fuel, and nuclear. Heck Ethanol can't even make it in IOWA without a subsidy.

I'd stake my future on something a little more certain if I were you. Must be nice to be able to "retire" at age 38.

Wrong. Oil and coal get subsidies as well. All energy sources receive subsidies. Our entire transporation infrastructure and road networks are all subsidized. Iowa is moving the right direction, away from coal- which is by far the dirtiest energy source. The hidden costs of coal are also externalized. Big coal doesn't pay for the hazardous waste dumps that mountaintop removal sites are, and they don't want to pay for cleaning up ancient coal plants that are grandfathered in the power grid.

[22crew]

Thanks guys for the respect....you know who you are. Yes it was my choice to join the military and i'm DAMNNNN glad i can. I didn't look at it for the retirement at 38. I was trained to do a job that i actually enjoy at times, i have traveled allll over the world and met the most awesome people in the world. And i will not be "retiring", i will be merely changing jobs as stated. But it is AWESSSSSOME knowing i only have 7 more yrs and my medical will be covered for life andddd i'll be receiving a check every month until the day i die. I usually don't go off like this but i felt a little bitterness.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by 22crew

Thanks guys for the respect....you know who you are. Yes it was my choice to join the military and i'm DAMNNNN glad i can. I didn't look at it for the retirement at 38. I was trained to do a job that i actually enjoy at times, i have traveled allll over the world and met the most awesome people in the world. And i will not be "retiring", i will be merely changing jobs as stated. But it is AWESSSSSOME knowing i only have 7 more yrs and my medical will be covered for life andddd i'll be receiving a check every month until the day i die. I usually don't go off like this but i felt a little bitterness.

i lived outside of the midwest, both internationally and domestically for many years. i am glad to be back. it is funny, all around me, the people who have been places love and appreciate the midwest and those who have never left, often hate it. i do my best to surround myself with positive people and good luck finding more agreeable people anywhere. there are so many great towns and cities to call home in this part of the country.

[my54ford]

The only people making money off of wind power are project developers (and maybe large land owners)......I have intimate ties with a utility that is 5th largest supplier of wind power to their customers in the country...The only time they don't loose money on wind is when it doesn't blow. They lose almost 1 million bucks a month to a foreign owned company.......Iowa is in the MISO footprint. the average LMP's in MISO have been in the sub 40.00 per MW range for the last 3 yrs . The typical PPA from a developer is @60.00 per MW. The way the market works is the you only get paid what MISO dictates (sub 40.00) regardless of your cost to produce (60.00) The lose gets handed down to the customer in higher rates. I see no one has mentioned the amount of non renewable generation need to back up wind? Utilities across the country are installing or recommisioning recip engine powerplants faster then the can be supplied......Last week Utilities along the Mn IA border burned over 600,000 galllons of diesel and I lost count of the natural gas to provide energy the wind plants couldn't due to lack of fuel....

[my54ford]

Originally Posted by 22crew

I was born and raised in Iowa....farm boy. I joined the Air Force right out of HS in 98. I can not waitttt for my 20 to be up and i am back to the midwest, hopefully Iowa. I am actually looking into becoming a wind turbine technician. We all know "green" energy is the future. Where i grew up, near Carroll IA there were no turbines, now they are everywhere. Doesn't bother me, just means i may be able to get a job close to home when the time comes. An associates in Applied Sciences is all that's needed for this profession, and of course some OJT. Well being military i get all my education for free....my plan is to have my bachelors in Applied Sciences, basically an engineering degree. Can't hold me down.

I know some folks who will be looking for a couple of electronic techs in a powerplant within the next few years. The Boss is retired Navy but he might let an Air Force guy slide in.... Engine plants that run to back up wind power.....

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

... those giant windmills everywhere are gawd-awful eyesores! What a shameful atrocity! My Iowa friends say they cost more to build and maintain than they return in actual energy, and the only reason they are there is that the property owners get tax breaks for allowing them. What's the opinion of most Iowans?

Funny, I love em.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by duster1979

Nice link. I just scanned the article, but all the problems I saw were pretty much specific to wind power in the UK. Iowa doesn't have to depend on unstable sources in France and Algeria for backup power so I don't think it really applies.

He posted a link to a UK Tabloid, Mail!! LOL, look at that website. It's trash news and "crazy" stories. People go there for news as much as they go to The Onion here for up to date current events. He's some kid from Georgia who drifts around different forums and makes fun of people who don't get to live in Georgia.

Lets look at their headlines today, shall we:

Happiness at last for father of tragic beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey as he marries Vegas fashion designer

The Incredible Journey: Mountain lion completes astonishing 2,000-mile walk across the U.S... before getting run over by a car

Police hunt serial buttock-slasher preying on women shoppers

That's one expensive car crash: Hapless blonde crashes her $400,000 Bentley into a Merc, Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin

Body of missing police suspect found inside bank's chimney 27 YEARS after he disappeared

It's the hippo hippo shake! Baby hippo becomes unlikely zoo starlet after amazing visitors with hilarious underwater routines

Mother conned grieving pet owners out of £90,000 for 'tasteful' funerals before dumping and setting fire to animals in a field

[BellaireGirl]

Seriously only someone that has never lived in a highly polluted area would think that. What I love about Iowa when we drove through it this summer was the fresh air. Try living in a state like Texas and see how you feel about clean energy. Windmills are much prettier than refinieries.

[orthosophy]

Originally Posted by my54ford

The only people making money off of wind power are project developers (and maybe large land owners)......I have intimate ties with a utility that is 5th largest supplier of wind power to their customers in the country...The only time they don't loose money on wind is when it doesn't blow. They lose almost 1 million bucks a month to a foreign owned company.......Iowa is in the MISO footprint. the average LMP's in MISO have been in the sub 40.00 per MW range for the last 3 yrs . The typical PPA from a developer is @60.00 per MW. The way the market works is the you only get paid what MISO dictates (sub 40.00) regardless of your cost to produce (60.00) The lose gets handed down to the customer in higher rates. I see no one has mentioned the amount of non renewable generation need to back up wind? Utilities across the country are installing or recommisioning recip engine powerplants faster then the can be supplied......Last week Utilities along the Mn IA border burned over 600,000 galllons of diesel and I lost count of the natural gas to provide energy the wind plants couldn't due to lack of fuel....

you mean last week in the middle of the one of the worst heat waves this country has ever seen? When every store in the midwest was out of air conditioners? And there was a strain on power? You don't say!

if the Energy industrial complex in this country lost money on windmills, they wouldn't build them. They aren't in the industry to lose money.

The average cost of energy in iowa for the residential consumer is about 9.5 /kwh. The average production costs of wind energy (even without the tax credit) is .08, and with the credit, it's .04, which makes it compete with natural gas. The primary reason industrial power runs so much lower is because most of your farming operations use LP and what kind of state is Iowa?

I am really curious to know how they are losing money on wind power, why you are losing a million a month to a foriegn country, and if what you are REALLY saying is that you want energy deregulation.

Also, if the cost gets pushed to the consumer, explain why our rates continue to be among the lowest in the nation while our comparitive investment in wind energy has grown.

Electric Power Monthly - Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State