DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Texas relies heavily on natural gas, coal and nuclear power in the winter, but frozen wind turbines received a lot of attention this week, with some wrongly saying that renewable energy issues were the main reason the Texans lost power.
This is a problem Iowa has not faced, even with the low temperatures of 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 training.
“When we order wind turbines, we add cold weather packages,” said spokesman Geoff Greenwood. “This includes heating elements, for example, inside the gearbox behind the turbines and which keep certain components warm and allows the turbines to run all year round, summer and winter alike.”
Greenwood said these cold weather sets allow turbines to produce energy up to about -20 degrees.
Because their goal is to provide clean wind energy throughout the year, Greenwood said they are also taking preventative measures during the summer.
“We have wind turbine technicians going there and making sure everything is ready to work when it’s very cold,” he explained. “It’s a bit like what you would do when you approach winter with your car: you want to make sure the antifreeze there and the battery are working, and the oil filters are neat.”
Although he believes frozen wind turbines could have been prevented in Texas, Greenwood said freezing conditions in Lone Star State did not help.
Copyright 2021 KCRG. All rights reserved.