Big windmills and big corn

As promised yesterday, here is the photograph of corn fields and wind turbines. We have driven through Iowa many times and the number of these turbines keeps growing. We must have observed hundreds as we drove west on Interstate 80.

I have no idea why wind energy has surged in Iowa. We have long been familiar with wind energy as North Dakota has many turbines and the large blades for many of these turbines are manufactured in Grand Forks. North Dakota is windy, but Iowa would be able to feed electricity to larger metropolitan areas.

Iowa knows it has established itself as a leadership role in renewable energy and featured this commitment at this rest area.

Before we hit the large concentration of turbines I found a way to photograph, I saw a large billboard stating “wind is not the answer”. I frequently write in opposition to conservative policies on Facebook, but I did not intend to allow my opposition to bleed over to my travel blog. However, when I followed up on the message from the billboard I found that the things I value continue to draw my attention. I assumed the message originated with farmers promoting alcohol production from corn as an energy source.  It turned out to be a little more complicated and weird.