Wind energy is booming in Iowa, and backers say it’s only the beginning.

In the past year, a new wind turbine manufacturing industry has begun to blossom in the state, creating or promising hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of investment in factories and equipment.

The state’s biggest utilities have announced plans to dramatically increase the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines.

“We have had arguably the best year of any state in the nation in 2007 when it comes to wind energy,” Gov. Chet Culver said.

But the jobs could blow away, economists warn, just as other manufacturing jobs have disappeared because of competition and technological change. Other states want to attract manufacturers, too. Wind power depends on subsidies, and changes in government policies could dampen the enthusiasm for wind.

For now, Iowa’s manufacturing boom is driven by domestic and European companies rushing to satisfy demand for wind generation as electric utilities look for more environmentally friendly ways to meet growing demand for power.

Wind power has advantages such as producing no air pollution and using an energy source that costs nothing and is renewable, said Louise Guey-Lee of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind turbines also take less time to construct, compared with traditional power plants.

Power is generated only when the wind is blowing, however, and upfront capital costs are high, Guey-Lee said. Interference with birds and radar are potential problems, she added.

Wind provides only about 1 percent of the nation’s electricity now, but the wind energy industry “sees 20 percent wind as an achievable vision over the next 20 to 30 years,” said Steve Lockard, chief executive of TPI Composites Inc. of Warren, R.I. His company plans to open a turbine blade factory in Newton next year.

Iowa ranks third among the states in wind power electrical generating capacity in operation, according to the American Wind Energy Association. The state’s 992 megawatts of capacity generated by about 960 turbines is enough electricity for 248,000 homes.

Current and promised jobs in the industry in Iowa total 1,500. Investment made or promised in plants and equipment totals about $160 million.

A September report by the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers estimates that nearly 5,200 manufacturing jobs, including 960 already promised, could be created in Iowa over the next decade.

Culver estimates the state could gain tens of thousands of jobs if it succeeds in attracting more manufacturers of major wind turbine components, as well as makers of smaller parts that go into towers, turbines and blades.

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