The breeze is blowing in Nebraska too, where the Nebraska Public Power District in October 2005 dedicated its new 60-megawatt, 36-turbine wind farm in Ainsworth. Able to supply the power needs of 19,000 homes, the facility will be used by four public power entities, three from Nebraska. The other one, Jacksonville Electric Authority of Jacksonville, Fla., will use 10 megawatts.
   The project went from approval to operation in 13 months. Experts note that development speed has everything to do with the fact that the federal production tax credit for wind power was reinstated only through 2007. Some have pushed for a longer extension in order to allow the industry to find its legs, while others are pushing for its phase-out for the very same reason.
   After ADM, Cargill is the second-largest ethanol producer in the U.S. Its 110-million-gallon expansion at its Blair, Neb., complex will help narrow that gap while more than doubling capacity.
   The 50-job expansion is just part of the presence of the company in the state, where it is also investing $5 million in an animal nutrition feedmill in Duncan. Pending permitting and incentive approvals, construction in Blair will begin in the spring of 2006 with production commencing in late 2007, when up to 50 new employees may be added. Cargill says the expansion is the latest step in the Blair complex's shift in focus toward industrial non-food uses of corn such as ethanol, bioplastics and amino acids.
   Cargill is also a partner in Demeter Enterprises, LLC, which announced in June 2005 that it would invest $125 million in a 100-million-gallon ethanol facility near Albion, in northeast Nebraska.
   In Mead, E3 BioFuels is taking the corn-fuel-animal loop full circle, investing $45 million in a new ethanol plant that will use cattle manure to power the ethanol-making process. Locating the cattle, ethanol plant, feed byproduct and waste processing in one place may save the company up to 50 percent in energy and transport costs. E3 BioFuels President David Hallberg, founder of the national Renewable Fuels Association, hopes to build a few more closed-loop units in the state, as well as explore the possibilities in other regions.