The American Corn Growers Association is excited about looking to alternative energy options, namely wind, for the production of corn. Nebraska corn grower Dan McGuire says wind power can save up to 90-million gallons of water a year. Dan serves as the Director of the American Corn Growers Association Wealth from the Wind program and he says corn growers have been committed to exploring options with wind power with the Wealth from the Wind program for five years. In fact, Dan says some ethanol plants are already using wind energy for part of their electric load.

Water isn´t the only thing wind power can help regulate. Dan says wind energy can also reduce volatility in natural gas prices. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that 11,603 MW of wind power will save over half a billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. The association says that means it expects wind power to reduce the use of natural gas for power generation by about five-percent and even up to 12 percent if 20-percent of electricity is generated by wind.