Iowa's Largest Windfarm Begins Operations

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The largest windfarm in Iowa, owned by MidAmerican Energy Company (Des Moines), is now complete and operational. The 500-megawatt (MW) Highland windfarm, which is located in O'Brien County, began commercial operations last week and is now providing clean, renewable energy to thousands of northwestern Iowa residents.

Mortenson Construction (Minneapolis, Minnesota), the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company chosen for the project, started construction prior to the end of 2013. The project was on a tight time frame to meet a fall 2015 deadline.

With a total investment of $900 million, the project spans more than 62 square miles throughout northwestern Iowa and is one of the largest windfarms in North America. The Highland windfarm utilizes 218 Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) wind turbines, and will sell the energy produced under a 25-year power purchase agreement with MidAmerican Energy. Siemens will be responsible for operations and maintenance for the windfarm for the next five years.

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