As wind farms have come online in farming and ranching states such as Minnesota, Iowa, Texas, and Wyoming, wind electric generation has soared, pushing U.S. wind generating capacity from 1,928 megawatts in 1998 to 2,490 megawatts in 1999-a gain of 29 percent. Contrary to public perceptions, the potential of wind power is enormous. It is like striking oil, except that the wind is never depleted. For ranchers with prime wind sites, income from wind could easily exceed that from cattle sales. One of the attractions of wind energy is that the turbines scattered across a farm or ranch do not interfere with the use of the land for farming or cattle grazing.
Farmers can literally have their cake and eat it, too.
Another attraction is that much of the income generated stays in the local community, whereas if electricity comes from an oil-fired power plant, the money spent for electricity may end up in the Middle East. The first utility-scale wind turbine manufacturing facility to be built outside of California has recently started operation in Champaign, Illinois, in the heart of the Corn Belt. Agricultural land values may soon reflect this new source of income. The wind meteorologist who identifies the best sites for turbines is playing a role in the emerging new energy economy comparable to that of the petroleum geologist in the old energy economy. The mere sight of a wind meteorologist installing wind-measuring instruments in a community could raise land prices.