MidAmerican Goes Whole Hog For Iowa Wind

[jpak]

http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/01/midamerican-goes-whole-hog-for-iowa-wind/

MidAmerican Energy loves wind. Iowa wind. The subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings – which is controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett – developed 593.4 megawatts (MW) of wind generation in Iowa last year, including three wind farm expansion projects. This year, MidAmerican Energy is pushing ahead with another 407.1 MW of wind power (176 turbines) scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2012.

The new projects include the 103.5-MW Vienna wind project in Marshall and Tama counties, which MidAmerican acquired from RPM Access. The company also signed agreements with Clipper Windpower Development for the acquisition of both the 200.1-MW Eclipse wind project (in Guthrie and Audubon counties), and the 101.2-MW Morning Light wind project (in Adair County). It will also add an additional 2.3-MW wind turbine to its Rolling Hills project in Southwestern Iowa.MidAmerican’s other Iowa wind projects are in Buena Vista, Carroll, Crawford, Floyd, Hamilton, Polk, Pottawattamie, Sac and Wright counties. At the end of 2012, MidAmerican will have invested $4 billion in wind power in Iowa, and own 2,284.8 MW of wind power capacity—more than any other rate-regulated utility in the U.S., and approximately 29 percent of its total generation portfolio.

So, what’s so great about wind? “Wind is a viable renewable energy resource that enhances our energy portfolio, providing additional generation at a reasonable cost for our customers,” said Bill Fehrman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy. “These projects also fulfill our commitment to Iowa regulators and our customers. In 2009, MidAmerican Energy received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to add up to 1,001 megawatts of wind-powered generation prior to 2013, and I’m proud to say we have agreements in place to fulfill that commitment.”