MidAmerican currently owns and operates 360.5 megawatts of wind energy facilities in northwest and north central Iowa that have the capability to produce enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. The new projects, utilizing improved wind turbine technology, would have the capability of generating enough electricity for up to 200,000 more customers and bring capacity up to 545 megawatts.
The ultimate project size, cost and locations have not been finalized, but electric rates – the cost per kilowatt hour of electricity – in Iowa for MidAmerican customers will remain at current levels through at least 2010 pursuant to the Iowa Utilities Board order approving the project, MidAmerican says.
“This is another significant investment by MidAmerican in Iowa’s energy future,” said Todd Raba, president of MidAmerican Energy Company. “This project will bring additional renewable energy to Iowans while keeping electric rates stable for our customers. We are again adding renewable energy to our diversified generation portfolio in a way that makes sense for our customers, our company and the state.”
The first phase of the expansion will be built in Carroll and Crawford counties in west central Iowa and is scheduled for completion this year. This 99-megawatt project, being constructed by Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC, will utilize 66 GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.
The location and size of additional MidAmerican-owned and operated wind facilities have not been finalized at this time.
The utility says that a 545-megawatt wind project would result in the avoidance of up to 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is the equivalent of removing 279,000 vehicles from the road. MidAmerican’s existing 360.5 megawatts of wind energy help avoid up to 805,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to removing 140,000 vehicles from the road.
MidAmerican built a 310.5-megawatt wind project in response to a challenge made in 2003 by Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to regulators, business professionals and utility companies in Iowa to work toward achieving 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy in Iowa by 2010. At the time, Gov. Vilsack’s challenge would have required the addition of 500 megawatts of renewable energy facilities in the state.
MidAmerican also announced that it has reached agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union to facilitate the opportunity for small community-based wind projects to sell the output of their wind projects to MidAmerican. Under the terms of the agreement, MidAmerican will purchase up to 40 megawatts of capacity from community wind projects that are connected to MidAmerican’s electric distribution system. Each project can consist of up to 2.5 megawatts, and up to 20 megawatts can be connected at any one delivery point on MidAmerican’s electric distribution system.
“MidAmerican is pleased to reach this agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union,” Raba said. “Both organizations believe in the future of wind generation in Iowa. This agreement will help MidAmerican partner with smaller projects to make them a reality across our service territory.”
