MidAmerican Energy Company announced a major project that will provide a cleaner energy future for Iowa.
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The announcement is a giant step toward realizing the company’s vision of 100 percent renewable energy for customers in the state.
MidAmerican Energy is filing a request with the Iowa Utilities Board to build Wind XI, a project that will add up to 2,000 megawatts of wind generation in Iowa.
The proposed $3.6 billion project is the largest wind project MidAmerican Energy has ever undertaken, and it’s being done without asking for an increase in customer rates or financial assistance from the state to pay for it.
The announcement came at a news conference attended by Governor Terry Branstad and Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
The proposed $3.6 billion Wind XI plan is the largest economic development project in the state’s history. The development of additional renewable generation puts MidAmerican Energy and the state of Iowa in a strong position to comply with carbon emissions limits and other regulatory requirements.
Some of the many economic benefits Wind XI will generate in the state: approximately $12.5 million per year in property tax payments, $18 million per year in landowner payments, and $48 million per year in state and local expenditures associated with the project.
MidAmerican Energy has been able to build renewable energy over the past decade while keeping its customer rates among the lowest in the nation.
MidAmerican Energy will work to finalize locations for its Wind XI development while the Iowa Utilities Board considers the project filing request.
The company has asked the IUB to approve its rate-making principles by September so it can take full advantage of the extended production tax credit available for the construction of new wind projects.
Without PTCs to help fund the cost of wind development, Iowans will pay more for building wind turbines in the future. The Wind XI project has been timed to allow MidAmerican Energy to make maximum use of available wind PTCs for the benefit of customers. ■
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