The Arbor Hill wind farm project includes 125 wind turbines. The Orient wind farm project includes 150 turbines with the option to add up to 100 more. Both are part of the company’s previously announced Wind XI project, the largest economic development project in Iowa’s history.
The 275 turbines, manufactured by Vestas Wind Systems A/S, will add 550 MW of wind generation capacity for MidAmerican Energy customers. Crews are scheduled to begin construction on both projects in June.
Arbor Hill and Orient will add to MidAmerican Energy’s three existing wind farms in Adair County: Adair, Morning Light and Rolling Hills.
The company anticipates that renewable generation will equate to more than 90 percent of its customers’ annual retail electricity usage by 2020.
The 550 MW associated with the two new Adair County wind farms should add an estimated average of $6.6 million in annual county property taxes. The projects are also expected to pay an average $4.8 million each year in landowner payments and create both construction jobs and long-term operations and maintenance jobs in the county.
The $3.6 billion Wind XI project, which first gained approval in August of 2016, is scheduled for completion in December 2019. The project will include up to 1,000 wind turbines and add up to 2,000 MW of wind generation capacity in Iowa. The two new Adair County wind farms will be the latest additions to the Wind XI project. Beaver Creek II wind farm in Greene County and North English wind farm in Poweshiek County are both under construction. Two additional wind farms, Beaver Creek in Boone and Greene counties, and Prairie in Mahaska County, are operating.
