Iowa and Minnesota- The American Wind Energy Association puts Texas first when it comes to total wind generated energy. Minnesota places third and Iowa fourth. New windmill construction projects have some experts predicting Iowa will soon move ahead of Minnesota. Minnesota's installed wind capacity is 1,299 megawatts. Iowa is 1,273MWs. Here's an idea of how much power that is: 1MWs can light up about 600 homes a year. Right now, Iowa's got nearly another 120 MWs under construction. While Minnesota has a little more than a third of that planned.

For the past ten years, Delebert Watson has experienced the growth of the wind industry. He has five windmills on his property. They're part of the 50 turbines that make up the Cerro Gordo County wind farm in Ventura. Those turbines can generate 42 MWs a year.

Watson wouldn't tells us just how much he's making from the turbines but implies it's a fair amount. For him, letting them build made dollars and sense.

"The wind blows here all the time and it's free," said Watson.

That same reason is why builder, Gary Bouska, is supervising another North Iowa wind farm project. The only problem is wind can be rather unpredictable.

"You never know when the winds going to blow, so someday you may not generate anything and someday we maybe putting out as much as a plant will put out," said Bouska.

Winds only push an average turbine at most 40 percent of its potential. Even though, winds can blow more than 14 miles per hour in North Iowa and Southern Minnesota. Still, at those speeds a single windmill can power about 300 average size homes.

Bouska is currently building a wind farm in Crystal Lake. In a couple of weeks, workers will put up the first of one hundred turbines. Bouska says an average size turbine can cost anywhere from one-half million to three million dollars. He says they try to get back that cost within 5 to 10 years depending on the market and the initial cost is high but after that maintenance is considerably low compared to other forms of energy. That's why Bouska doesn't see it stopping there.

Nationally, wind energy only accounts for one-percent of our total energy but the US Energy Department thinks wind energy could account for 20 percent of total electricity generated by 2030.

Emergency management workers say wind turbines do have the potential of interfering with communication waves if they are placed in the way. But Bouska says before a wind farm goes up a beam path study is held. He says they hope to move any hazards before they happen.