MidAmerican Energy’s 99-MW Victory Wind Project Online

Des Moines, Iowa [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Without changing its customers’ electric rates, MidAmerican Energy’s 99-megawatt (MW) Victory Wind Project in west central Iowa is now online, bringing a total of 459.5 MW of wind energy facilities in Iowa that the company owns and operates.

“We’re pleased to be a leader in wind energy,” said Todd Raba, president of MidAmerican Energy Company. “What’s more gratifying is that we haven’t raised our customers’ electric rates to build wind generation. The last electric rate increase MidAmerican Energy customers experienced was in 1995. We’ve promised not to raise our Iowa electric rates through at least 2010, and we don’t have any increases planned for our customers in Illinois or South Dakota.” The company’s 66 wind turbines at the Victory Wind Project, located in Carroll and Crawford counties, dot the horizon near the communities of Westside and Arcadia, and can generate electricity for approximately 40,000 customers. Construction began last spring following Iowa Utilities Board approval of MidAmerican Energy’s 2006-2007 wind expansion plan. The company began building wind projects in 2004, and completed 310.5-MW and 50-MW wind projects last year. That was 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 MW of renewable energy in Iowa by 2010.