14 DAY TRIAL // A new report made public by Environment Iowa says that the state now produces about 8.4 million tons less carbon pollution, all thanks to investments made in harvesting wind power.
The report says that the state's wind power output presently amounts to 13.9 million megawatt-hours. This means that 24.5% of Iowa's energy demand is met by clean power alone.
Environment Iowa says that, all things considered, the state is well on track to have 50% of its electricity demand met by wind energy by 2018. Should this happen, the state's ecological footprint would be further reduced. Think Progress tells us that the 8.4 million tons of carbon pollution that this state no longer produces are the equivalent of taking 1.7 million cars off the road.
Interestingly enough, the development of Iowa's wind energy industry has also yielded significant benefits in terms of reducing local water consumption. Thus, the report says that, presently, the state saves about 3.8 billion gallons of water per year.