MidAmerican Energy Company has announced its plans to add 1.05 GW of wind energy generation capacity in Iowa by the end of 2015. The plans, approved by the Iowa Utilities Board in August, call for five major new wind energy generation facilities.
In addition to the new energy plants, already under construction, MidAmerican has also recently purchased wind energy facilities from Highland Wind Energy LLC for a 500 MW site, from EDF Renewable Energy for a 250 MW site, and from RPM Access LLC for a 138.6 MW site and a 117 MW site. In addition, MidAmerican is expanding its Vienna wind farm by 44.6 MW.
The Highland Wind Energy LLC and RPM Access LLC sites will be built by Minnesota’s Mortenson Construction, while the EDF Renewable Energy site and the expansion of the Vienna wind famr will be constructed by North Dakota’s Wanzek Construction.
The turbines will be produced by Siemens, out of their factories in Iowa and Kansas. Siemens will produce the 448 2.3 MW turbines for MidAmerican’s 5 wind projects. Further, Siemens will service the wind farms in the future.
The construction and operation of these plants will provide Iowa with over 1,000 new jobs and millions of dollars in property tax revenue. MidAmerican’s investment in these wind energy plans will amount to $1.9 billion. It will provide enough electricity to power an estimated 317,000 Iowan homes, at no additional cost to the consumer. MidAmerican currently provides electricity to 734,000 Iowa households, so this investment represents a large increase in its generation capacity.
In addition to the new energy plants, already under construction, MidAmerican has also recently purchased wind energy facilities from Highland Wind Energy LLC for a 500 MW site, from EDF Renewable Energy for a 250 MW site, and from RPM Access LLC for a 138.6 MW site and a 117 MW site. In addition, MidAmerican is expanding its Vienna wind farm by 44.6 MW.
The Highland Wind Energy LLC and RPM Access LLC sites will be built by Minnesota’s Mortenson Construction, while the EDF Renewable Energy site and the expansion of the Vienna wind famr will be constructed by North Dakota’s Wanzek Construction.
The turbines will be produced by Siemens, out of their factories in Iowa and Kansas. Siemens will produce the 448 2.3 MW turbines for MidAmerican’s 5 wind projects. Further, Siemens will service the wind farms in the future.
The construction and operation of these plants will provide Iowa with over 1,000 new jobs and millions of dollars in property tax revenue. MidAmerican’s investment in these wind energy plans will amount to $1.9 billion. It will provide enough electricity to power an estimated 317,000 Iowan homes, at no additional cost to the consumer. MidAmerican currently provides electricity to 734,000 Iowa households, so this investment represents a large increase in its generation capacity.
