Lease your land for wind in Story County, Iowa
Story County hosts active wind development around Ames. Per-turbine royalties, MidAmerican / Alliant grid, and stacking with cropland.
Lease your Story County, Iowa land for wind — central Iowa development
Story County hosts active wind development around Ames. Per-turbine royalties, MidAmerican / Alliant grid, and stacking with cropland.
Story County, Iowa (Ames area), sits in central Iowa's wind belt with multiple operating wind farms and continuing new development. MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy both develop and own projects in the county.
Story County wind economics in 2026
- Per-turbine royalty: $9,000-$12,000 per year (high end of Iowa range)
- Construction-period payments: $40,000-$80,000 per turbine
- A 320-acre Story parcel hosting 4-5 turbines earns ~$40k-$60k per year in royalties — plus continued cash rent on the ~98% of acreage that remains in row crops
What makes Story County land viable
- 80+ contiguous acres for proper turbine spacing
- Open cropland (Story is dominantly corn/soybean — minimal tree cover)
- Setback compliance — Story County requires 1,250+ ft from residences
- MidAmerican or Alliant grid access
Active Story County developers
- MidAmerican Energy (Iowa-headquartered; owns large Iowa wind portfolio)
- Alliant Energy
- NextEra Energy Resources
- Invenergy
Stacking with row crops
Story County's combination of strong wind + premium cropland is the canonical Iowa wind-belt story. A typical 320-acre Story parcel:
- Cash rent for 318 acres of corn at $295/ac = ~$94k/yr
- Turbine royalty (5 turbines × $10k) = $50k/yr
- Combined: ~$144k/yr vs $94k/yr from cropland alone
Next step
Run a free Landholder.com assessment — we use NREL wind data for your Story County parcel.
Providers active in Iowa for wind
AES Corporation's renewable arm. Active developer of utility-scale solar and wind across the US.
Charlottesville-based wind and solar developer with 30+ GW pipeline.
EDF's North American renewables arm. Develops, owns, and operates utility-scale wind/solar.
Privately held global renewables developer. Lease and acquire wind/solar sites at scale.
Marketplace platform connecting landowners with energy buyers across solar, wind, oil & gas, and data centers.
World's largest generator of wind and solar power. Active landowner lease program across the wind belt.
Independent renewables company with large-scale wind portfolios in TX, NM, OK, KS.
Free, instant. Scores all 14 monetization paths and shows your stacked potential.