Energy company plans to build hundreds of wind turbines in Iowa

[jpak]

http://wqad.com/2013/05/08/energy-company-plans-to-build-hundreds-of-wind-turbines-in-iowa/

MidAmerican Energy announced plans to add wind generators in Iowa, investing almost $2-billion.

According to a spokesperson from the company, by the end of 2015, MidAmerican has plans to add up to 1,050 megawatts of wind generation- consisting of 656 new wind turbines. The investment will cost about $1.9-billion.

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MidAmerican began building wind projects in 2004, and since then 1,267 wind turbines have been installed in Iowa; an investment of about $4-billion.

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“The wind industry creates good paying jobs in local communities and this announcement will create new jobs in addition to the over 7,000 Iowans who are already employed by the industry,” said Loebsack.

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[windyctyprog]

1. There Is A Very Good Reason for This...

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company is a holding company controlled by Berkshire Hathaway.

The venerable Mr. Buffet has the wherewithal to make things happen, no doubt.

My businesses are located in W. Iowa and our power bills are so much cheaper than what I pay in Chicago with Com Ed and Nicor, two of the worst at utility management.

[TeamPooka]

2. welcome to DU!

[hrmjustin]

3. Welcome to DU my friend!

[ellisonz]

4. Welcome to DU!

[kristopher]

5. So where does this fit into the larger picture for the US?

2014 Is Looking To Be A 7,000 Megawatt Year For Wind Power Capacity And Innovation
By Jeff Spross on May 12, 2013 at 10:35 am


GE's new Brilliant 2.5 megawatt turbine. (Credit: GE)

According to Bloomberg, Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. is gearing up to drop $1.9 billion on new wind farms in Iowa. The investment might build as many as 656 new turbines by 2015, which would add as much as 1,050 megawatts of wind power capacity to the 2,285 megawatts the company already operates in the state.

The project could also herald a revival in American wind power in general. The anticipated expiration of the production tax credit for wind energy drove a spike in installations in 2012, then a lull into 2013, and finally an anticipated ramp up now that the credit was extended for another year by the fiscal cliff deal.
And because the new extension merely requires projects to start construction by the end of the year to qualify — projects previously had to actually come online by the end of the year to benefit from the credit — GE now expects the full force of the revival to hit in 2014:

Wind-farm developers including NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) and Invenergy LLC may install 3,000 megawatts to 4,000 megawatts of turbines in the U.S. this year and as much as 7,000 megawatts next year, Anne McEntee, GE’s vice president of renewable energy, said today in an interview.
The U.S. added a record 13,124 megawatts of turbines last year, outpacing natural gas installations for the first time, as wind developers raced to complete projects ahead of the Dec. 31 expiration of the production tax credit. Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) andSpain’s Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA (GAM) also expect new orders to pick up by the third quarter.…
GE has received orders this year for more than 1,000 megawatts of wind turbines, including one from NextEra for 100.3 megawatts announced today for a Michigan wind farm and Invenergy’s 215-megawatt deal announced last week for a project in Texas.

Also coming down the pike for wind power is the new version of GE’s Brilliant — a 2.5 megawatt wind turbine, featuring new smart systems and accompanying storage capacity...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/12/1997111/2014-is-looking-to-be-a-7000-megawatt-year-for-wind-power-capacity-and-innovation/