
Iowa recently reached a benchmark in electricity generation, with the state's wind capacity generating 20 percent of its total electricity network, the Des Moines Register reports.
According to the news source, the milestone was set after MidAmerican Energy installed a new 594-megawatt wind farm outside Adair. The project is the first in a series of three that aims to boost the state's wind energy production.
The company currently has 1,330 megawatts of wind capacity in the state, with its highest loads so far this summer totaling 4,700 megawatts.
Iowa, with more than 4,000 megawatts of wind power, is racing to pull further ahead in the country's wind energy race, and currently trails Texas, which has almost 9,000 megawatts, the media outlet stated.
"Most regions across the U.S. have more under construction activity today than installed in all of 2010," Elizabeth Salerno, American Wind Energy Association's Chief Economist said in a statement.
According to the AWEA, wind energy made a rebound in the second quarter, with 2,151 megawatts of power being installed in the first half of 2011.

