The Hawkeye State?s main utility company is investing $3.6 billion in large-scale windfarms to help get Iowans off of fossil fuels More than any other state, Iowa is powered by wind energy. A full 31 percent of the state?s power is already produced by wind turbines, but Des Moines-based power company MidAmerican Energy thinks they can do better.
MidAmerican has a goal of generating 100 percent of its Iowa energy from renewable resources like wind and solar. To that end, the company has invested $3.6 billion in erecting 1,000 wind turbines by the end of 2019. Named Wind XI, the company?s massive wind farm is projected to generate 2,000 additional megawatts of power and will be MidAmerican?s largest wind project. The turbines will be brought online beginning in 2017. Once installation is complete, a full 85 percent of MidAmerican?s energy will be generated by wind.
The company anticipates paying for the multi-billion dollar wind farm with federal tax credits over the next 10 years. The Iowa Utilities Board has already given its thumbs-up supporting the plan.
Source: Gov Tech

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