WATERLOO TECHNICAL SOCIETY

August 9th, 2023

Renewable Energy: MidAmerican Wind Turbines 

Description: Renewable energy is a topic of national interest. Iowa has a lot of wind and is a prominent user of this energy to provide electricity. MidAmerican Energy is among the leaders in this market.

How many turbines are in MidAmerican’s fleet?

As of 2022, we have more than 3,400 wind turbines across 33 Iowa counties.

 

How much electricity can be generated from MidAmerican's wind farms?

As of 2022, our fleet of wind farms generates more than 7,500 megawatts of electricity – enough to power more than 2.3 million average households each year.

How important is wind power to MidAmerican?

Our fleet of wind farms represent an investment of nearly $14.4 billion in clean, renewable energy since 2004. MidAmerican owns 5.9% of all the wind capacity in the country. We are proud to help make Iowa the national leader in wind energy generation as a percentage of total statewide electricity generation, according to the American Wind Energy Association. 


How fast can a wind turbine spin?

At its tip, a wind turbine blade can spin as fast as 200 miles per hour! To prevent damage from severe weather, our wind turbines automatically shut down and stop spinning when winds are strong enough to cause the blades to spin faster than they can safely manage.

 

How big are wind turbines?

The first wind turbines in our fleet were 71m (approx. 233 feet) tall. The tallest model of wind turbine in our fleet is nearly 150m (nearly 600 feet) tall. That’s almost twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty! Taller towers can support longer turbine blades, which generate more electricity for longer periods of time. This helps us provide Iowa energy users with clean, safe, renewable energy faster. We’ve been able to upgrade many of our older turbines with new parts and technologies in a process called repowering.

Speaker: Camden Ohrt, Northeast Iowa Wind Site Manager

Cam is an Iowa native and a 2008 graduate of Waterloo West High. He attended the University of Iowa where he majored in Environmental Sciences and completed the Sustainability Certificate program. Prior to his current position he worked as an Electrical Distribution Planner, Solar Consultant, and spent a few years out west in the industrial emissions monitoring world. He is married to a Cedar Falls native and has two boys and a girl all under the age of 6. His is a big outdoors family and do their best to be outside as much as possible.  

Reservations: reservations@waterlootechnicalsociety.org, by noon, August 7th, 2023

Social period: 5:30 P.M, August 9th, 2023, Dinner: 6:30 P.M.

Program: Immediately following the dinner

Program Chair: Steve Crouse

Guests are always welcome. We need your reservation to enable us to have a name tag for you as well as to send you a reminder in email. 

You are welcome to make a reservation for dinner or just come to the presentation. A program-only reservation is appreciated for a head count.

Where: Cedar Falls Pizza Ranch, 4302 University Avenue, Suite B, Cedar Falls, IA 50613

Meal: Dinner includes pizza buffet, dinner buffet, sides and dessert buffet.

Please pay the Pizza Ranch cashier upon entering the restaurant. Seniors (65+) $15.49, adults $17.22. These prices include the tax. Gluten free and vegan options are offered by Pizza Ranch.