Officials with Mid American Energy Company today (Friday), announced the development of new wind projects in Iowa, totaling 407.1-megawatts. Among the projects, is a signed agreement with Clipper Windpower Development Company, for the acquisition of both the 200.1-megawatt Eclipse wind project, located in Adair County. The projects, which also include those in Marshall and Tama Counties, a combined 176 turbines, will be complete by the end of 2012. An additional 2.3-megawatt wind turbine will also be added to the Rollings Hills wind project this year.
In December 2010, MidAmerican announced it would add 593.4-megawatts of new wind-powered generation in Iowa. The projects included the 443.9-megawatt Rolling Hills wind project, located in Adair, Adams and Cass Counties. The final portion of the 593.4-megawatt expansion was placed in-service at the end of 2011.
The company’s other wind projects are located in several western Iowa counties, including Carroll, Crawford, and Pottawattamie. They total 1,284.3-megawatts of wind generation. When the 2012 wind projects are complete, MidAmerican will own 2,284.8-megawatts of wind generation, with about 29% of its total generation capacity powered by wind. By the time the 2012 projects are completed, the company will have invested about 4-billion dollars in those projects.