DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Texas relies heavily on natural gas, coal, and nuclear power during the winter, but frozen wind turbines have received a lot of attention this week, with some falsely arguing that renewable energy issues were the main reason Texans lost power.
That’s a problem Iowa hasn’t had to deal with, even with the bitter cold temperatures in February.
MidAmerican Energy Company operates more than 3,300 wind turbines in Iowa. A company spokesman told TV9 that the main difference between Iowa and Texas is preparation.
“When we order our wind turbines, we add cold weather packages to them,” said spokesman Geoff Greenwood. “This includes, for example, heating elements in the gearbox located behind the turbines that keep certain components warm and allow the turbines to operate all year round, both in summer and winter.”
Greenwood said those cold weather kits allow the turbines to produce energy down to about -20 degrees.
Because their goal is to provide clean wind energy year-round, Greenwood said they are taking preventative measures in the summer as well.
“We have wind turbine engineers who go upstairs and make sure everything is okay when it gets really cold,” he explained. “It’s a bit like what you’d do when you’re approaching winter with your car: you want to make sure it has antifreeze in it and the battery is working and the oil lubrication filters are taking care of it.”
While he thinks frozen Texas wind turbines could have been prevented, Greenwood said the ice build-up in Lone Star state didn’t help.
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