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MidAmerican Energy Announces New Wind Energy Location; Construction Underway on Company's 2006-2007 Wind Expansion

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 15:01 CDT

Another site has been announced for MidAmerican Energy Company's 2006-2007 wind expansion project.

Construction of a 123-megawatt wind facility in Pocahontas County in northwest Iowa is expected to begin later this year and is scheduled to be completed prior to the end of 2007. In April 2006, MidAmerican announced a 99-megawatt wind project in Crawford and Carroll counties in west central Iowa following Iowa Utilities Board approval of the company's plan to build up to 545 megawatts of new wind-powered electric generation in Iowa before the end of 2007.

"We're pleased that construction is underway at the project in Carroll and Crawford counties," said Tom Budler, MidAmerican Energy's wind project manager. "We're scheduled to have the project in Carroll and Crawford counties on-line by the end of this year, and construction is expected to get underway at the Pocahontas County site later this year."

The ultimate size of MidAmerican Energy's 2006-2007 wind expansion project, its overall cost and possible additional locations have not been finalized, but electric rates - the cost per kilowatt hour of electricity - in Iowa for MidAmerican customers will remain at current levels through at least 2010 pursuant to the Iowa Utilities Board order approving the project. The last time MidAmerican's customers experienced an electric rate increase was 1995.

The 123-megawatt wind facility site in Pocahontas County will be developed and constructed by enXco Development Corporation and will utilize 82 GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.

Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC is constructing the 99-megawatt wind facility in Carroll and Crawford counties that will utilize 66 GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.

MidAmerican currently owns and operates 360.5 megawatts of wind energy facilities in northwest and north central Iowa that have the capability to produce enough electricity to power 100,000 homes.

MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa's largest energy company, provides electric service to 706,000 customers and natural gas service to 687,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. It is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Information about MidAmerican is available on the Internet at http://www.midamericanenergy.com.

About enXco Development Corporation

enXco Development Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of enXco, Inc. enXco develops, constructs, operates and manages wind energy projects throughout the United States. Since 1987, enXco has grown to a significant owner of wind-energy installations in the United States (more than 400 megawatts under control) and one of the largest operations and maintenance third-party providers for wind farms, currently servicing more than 4,200 turbines and more than 1,100 megawatts. Since 2002, enXco has been an affiliate of EdF Energies Nouvelles. To learn more about enXco, go to www.enxco.com

About Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC

Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC is a subsidiary of Invenergy Wind LLC, a developer, owner and operator of utility-scale wind generation facilities. The company has significant expertise in the development, financing, operation and management of power generation projects serving a wide range of utilities, load-serving entities and industrials. Invenergy has an experienced management team with a track record of resounding successes in its prior business entities. Invenergy is headquartered in Chicago and has professional staff located in Denver, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Toronto, San Francisco and Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.invenergyllc.com.

About GE Energy

GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2005 revenue of $16.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

With wind turbine design, manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain and the United States, GE Energy is among the leading providers of wind energy products and support services ranging from commercial wind turbines and grid integration products to project development assistance and operation and maintenance. The company's knowledge base includes the development and/or installation of more than 8,500 wind turbines with a total rated capacity of 7,600 megawatts.

Source: Business Wire

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