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MidAmerican Energy Announces Plans to More Than Double the Amount of Electricity It Generates From Wind

Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

MidAmerican Energy Company, already the national leader in terms of installed wind energy capacity among rate-regulated utilities, received approval Tuesday from the Iowa Utilities Board to build up to 545 megawatts of additional wind-powered electric generation in Iowa.

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. The new projects, utilizing improved wind turbine technology, would have the capability of generating enough electricity for up to 200,000 more customers.

The ultimate project size, cost and 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. MidAmerican's customers have not experienced an electric rate increase since 1995.

"This is another significant investment by MidAmerican in Iowa's energy future," said Todd Raba, president of MidAmerican Energy Company. "This project will bring additional renewable energy to Iowans while keeping electric rates stable for our customers. We are again adding renewable energy to our diversified generation portfolio in a way that makes sense for our customers, our company and the state."

The first phase of the expansion will be built in Carroll and Crawford counties in west central Iowa and is scheduled to be completed in 2006. This 99-megawatt project, being constructed by Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC, will utilize 66 GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.

The location and size of additional MidAmerican-owned and operated wind facilities have not been finalized at this time.

A 545-megawatt wind project would result in the avoidance of up to 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is the equivalent of removing 279,000 vehicles from the road. MidAmerican's existing 360.5 megawatts of wind energy help avoid up to 805,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to removing 140,000 vehicles from the road.

MidAmerican built a 310.5-megawatt wind project in response to a challenge made in 2003 by Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to regulators, business professionals and utility companies in Iowa to work toward achieving 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy in Iowa by 2010. At the time, Gov. Vilsack's challenge would have required the addition of 500 megawatts of renewable energy facilities in the state.

"As the No. 1 regulated utility owner of wind energy installations in the nation, MidAmerican is a leader in increasing the amount of electricity generated in Iowa from renewable resources," Vilsack said. "The company's ability to invest in new electric generation facilities while continuing to hold the line on electric rates has a huge impact on the energy security of our state."

If the full 545 megawatts of wind generation are added by the end of 2007, MidAmerican would own or have under contract, in Iowa, more than 1,000 megawatts of wind, biomass and hydroelectric energy. Based on American Wind Energy Association information, Iowa currently has more than 830 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, making it third in the country, behind California and Texas, in the production of wind energy.

"We're thrilled with MidAmerican's announcement," said Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association. "MidAmerican has stepped forward as one of the real leaders within the electric utility industry related to wind energy, and the state of Iowa will be reaping a wide range of benefits as a result: cleaner air, new jobs, growing revenue for farmers and local governments, and stable electric rates for consumers."

MidAmerican also announced that it has reached agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union to facilitate the opportunity for small community-based wind projects to sell the output of their wind projects to MidAmerican. Under the terms of the agreement, MidAmerican will purchase up to 40 megawatts of capacity from community wind projects that are connected to MidAmerican's electric distribution system. Each project can consist of up to 2.5 megawatts, and up to 20 megawatts can be connected at any one delivery point on MidAmerican's electric distribution system.

"MidAmerican is pleased to reach this agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union," Raba said. "Both organizations believe in the future of wind generation in Iowa. This agreement will help MidAmerican partner with smaller projects to make them a reality across our service territory."

Iowa economic development officials also are pleased about the impact the new wind project will have on the state's economy. "Projects like this are key drivers in economic development for our state," said Mary Lawyer, director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. "MidAmerican is investing in our state's energy future and in the lives of our communities and residents with the creation of construction jobs, not only for this project, but also with the $1.5 billion investment the company has in its other new electric generation projects in Council Bluffs, Des Moines and northwest and north central Iowa."

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 www.midamericanenergy.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. 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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