<P> The development of wind power in Iowa began with the enactment in 1983 of a state law that required investor - owned utilities in the state to buy a total of 105 MW of power from wind generated electricity, one of the first renewable electricity portfolio standards . This provided assurance to those building wind power installations that there would be a market for the electricity they produced . </P> <P> In 2010 and in 2009, Iowa led the U.S. in the percentage of electrical power generated by wind, at 15.4 percent and 14.2 percent . This was up from 7.7 percent in 2008, as there was a large increase in the installed capacity in 2008 . Some of the wind power generated electricity is sold to utility companies in nearby states, such as Wisconsin, and Illinois . </P> <P> Wind farms are most prevalent in the north and west portion of Iowa . Wind maps show the winds in these areas to be stronger on average, making them better suited for the development of wind energy . Average wind speeds are not consistent from month to month . Wind maps show wind speeds are on average strongest from November through April, peaking in March . August is the month with the weakest average wind speeds . On a daily cycle, there is a slight rise in average wind speeds in the afternoon, from 1 to 6 p.m. Estimates by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicate Iowa has potentially 570,700 Megawatts of wind power using large turbines mounted on 80 meter towers . Iowa ranks seventh in the country in terms of wind energy generation potential due to the strong average wind speeds in the midsection of the U.S. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet distributes current weather and wind conditions from approximately 450 monitoring stations across Iowa, providing data for modelling and predicting wind power . </P> <P> The average capacity factor of Iowa wind farms has been estimated as 33.3% by a wind industry consultant . For newer installations, higher capacity factors, approaching 40%, have been stated . Production numbers for 2013, when wind capacity remained almost constant, showed a capacity factor over 34 percent . Due to these better wind conditions, Iowa generated more electricity from wind power in 2013 than California, even though it had less wind power capacity installed . And again in 2014 Iowa was number two in wind power generation behind only Texas . </P>

Where does iowa rank in wind energy production