Jan 29, 2019
Paul Roeder
Development of Wind Energy

DRC Sponsor: Larry Grimstad

Please note the 1/29 meeting starts at noon rather than as an evening 5th Tuesday event.

Paul Roeder is a developer and owner of utility-scale, community-based wind power generation systems in the State of Iowa. He plans to speak to our club on aspects of the wind power generation industry and his experiences and insights into the wind energy generation business.

Iowa is #1 in the U.S. in wind power generation in terms of kilowatts per square mile, with wind generated electricity comprising over 35% of the total. That figure is expected to top 40% by the year 2020. In terms of total wind generating capacity, Iowa is second only to Texas. The wind energy industry employs between 8,000 and 9,000 Iowans, including manufacturing, operations and maintenance, design and engineering professionals. Wind energy accounts for at least $13.5 billion in capital investment in Iowa, according to the U.S. Wind Industry's Annual Market Report. Some of the largest technology companies in the world, including Google and Facebook, have identified the availability of low-cost wind energy as a leading reason to locate new facilities in Iowa.