The two projects are the Beaver Creek wind farm in Boone and Greene counties and the Prairie wind project in Mahaska County, the first Wind XI project sites to be selected. The company plans to begin construction of the wind farms in April with completion scheduled for the end of 2017. The projects will add 338 MW of new wind generation capacity in Iowa. Beaver Creek will consist of 85 turbines and add 170 MW of wind generation capacity, while the Prairie wind project will have 84 turbines and add 168 megawatts. The company is working with developers, county officials and landowners at potential wind farm sites in other Iowa counties to develop the remainder of the wind farms in the Wind XI project. Construction on these projects would start in 2018 and 2019, and sites will be announced at a later date. Construction on the entire Wind XI project is expected to be complete by December 2019.
MidAmerican Energy announced plans in April 2016 to invest $3.6 billion for the Wind XI project which will be the largest economic development investment in Iowa’s history. The project calls for the construction of 1,000 wind turbines that will add 2,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity in the state.
“MidAmerican Energy is not asking for an increase in customer rates or financial assistance from the state to pay for the Wind XI project” said Bill Fehrman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy. “For our customers, the benefits of Wind XI are very clear: clean energy produced right here in Iowa, using an abundant natural resource. We believe the best way to meet the energy needs of our customers is to provide safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy.”
The Wind XI project is expected to produce $1.2 billion in economic benefits for Iowa communities as a result of landowner easements and property tax payments over the next 40 years. Additionally, during construction thousands of jobs are expected to be added to Iowa’s economy and hundreds of new permanent jobs will be added when the expansion is complete.
With its investment in the Wind XI project, MidAmerican Energy’s wind generation each year will be equal to 85 percent of the energy used by our retail customers in Iowa, bringing us within striking distance of our 100 percent renewable energy vision.
MidAmerican Energy Company is an energy provider serving 752,000 electric customers and 733,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. It is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa.
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