Officials with MidAmerican Energy Company today (Monday) announced they plan to move forward with the development of up to 1,050-megawatts of additional wind generation by the end of 2015, through the construction of new wind turbines in five Iowa counties, including Madison. The utility company credits a decision by the Iowa Utilities Board, in allowing MidAmerican Energy to move forward with its plans.

In May, MidAmerican announced plans to invest up to $1.9 billion to expand its wind generation fleet in Iowa. The company continues working with county officials and landowners and has secured development and interconnection rights for the wind farm sites. Construction is expected to begin in September 2013, and all projects are planned for completion prior to the end of 2015.

The utility says wind expansion will enhance economic development and provide in excess of $360 million in additional property tax revenues over the next 30 years. Landowner payments totaling more than $3 million per year also are expected as a result of the expansion. The expansion is planned to be built at no net cost to the company’s customers and will help stabilize electric rates over the long term by providing a rate reduction totaling $10 million per year by 2017, commencing with a $3.3 million reduction in 2015.

The rate reduction will begin after MidAmerican Energy installs the first 350 megawatts of generation capacity. During construction, approximately 460 jobs will be added to the Iowa economy, and nearly 50 new permanent jobs will be added when the expansion is complete.

The company began building wind projects in 2004 and, to date, has installed 1,267 wind turbines in Iowa, making MidAmerican Energy the largest rate-regulated utility owner of wind generation in the U.S.