Iowa and Texas Face Off Over Wind Supremecy

There's a little friendly rivalry between Iowa and Texas (and as we know, competition spurs innovation). The Dallas News reports that Iowa Governor Chet Culver announced, "I just want Texas to know that we're coming after you." The governor said this remark at the Windpower 2010 convention in Dallas. Iowa presently generates 3,670 megawatts of wind power whereas Texas generates approximately 10,000 megawatts of wind power. Iowa is the second-largest producer of wind power in America.

It is clear why Iowa wants to move into wind power. Beside the technology offering a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly source of energy, it also offers new avenues for job creation. Texas presently has about 10,000 jobs linked to the wind power industry, and it projects about 41,000 jobs by the end of the decade. The state has plans to spend upwards of $5 billion in order to double its wind power generation infrastructure and offer the energy from as far away as Northwestern Texas down to the metropolitan centers in the east.

Texas is really an exemplary state for wind power growth: Back in 1999, the state only generating about 116 megawatts of wind power. It's thought that Texas' largely deregulated power market has been responsible for its enormous growth. The state has also enjoyed relatively unbroken economic prosperity as the rest of the country has endured more ups and downs. One area in which Texas still suffers is in transmitting its power across state lines. The state does not share much of its power grid with other states. However, it seems that that may just be a function of state's unique personal identity.

European Union Pushes For Smart Grid Funding

Europe is getting hammered pretty hard by the declining global economy. But this hasn't hindered European Union from trying to secure funding for a supergrid. Recently, the EU's Minister for Communication, Energy, and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan reached out to business leaders in Dublin. Ryan had a lot to say to the Business & Leadership Green Economy conference. Ryan exhorted business leaders to reduce carbon emissions and create a "revolution" in the green economy. He noted that there are many viable green energy technologies, including wind energy, but in order for green technology to take off, Europe will need a better energy grid. He said,

"To give us the modern electrical economy we need a modern grid, at home, and to connect north-western Europe.

“European energy ministers are working on this; it’s not pie in the sky. When I go to energy council ministers, we talk about how we could connect Britain to Norway, how we fund these, the timelines.

“We are setting out the plans and we’ll be going to Europe for a review of funding for 2014. The opportunity is to match funding arrangements for future smart grids with climate-change objectives and I think we’ll succeed. Airtricity’s Eddie O’Connor has been talking about this for years, everyone is taking this serious as one of main projects in Europe."

As we've noted before, an efficient energy revolution will fail to take place unless a smart grid gets implemented. It's great to see the European Union look to the long term, past these present economic woes, and at a future composed of smart grid and green energy.