UTILITY BUYS IOWA LAND FOR WIND

The politicians in D.C. may not realize the urgency of New Energy yet but the people who keep the lights on in the heartland understand.

Alliant Subsidiary Interstate Power Buys Wind Site Near Hampton, Iowa
December 7, 2007 (AP via Yahoo Finance)

WHO
Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL) (Tom Aller, president); Alliant Energy Corp.; Wind Capital Group; Iowa Gov. Chet Culver

Iowa has great wind resources. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
IPL has bought Iowa land on which it will build a wind farm.

WHEN
IPL will finalize purchase of turbine hardware by the end of the first half of 2008. It plans to begin construction of a 100-megawatt installation on the Iowa site in 2009 and expects to have 200 megawatts of wind energy generating there by 2010.

WHERE
- The purchased land is in north central Iowa, in Franklin County near Hampton.
- IPL is looking at wind development opportunities in its Iowa and Minnesota service areas.
- IPL is based in Cedar Rapids.

WHY
- IPL is a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp.
- IPL serves 526,000 electric and 232,000 natural gas customers.
- The land was purchased from Wind Capital Group.
- IPL expects the final cost to be between $360 and $440 million.
- This is IPL’s first company-owned wind farm but it has 255 megawatts of wind energy contracted. 4% of its electricity comes from wind. It is the biggest purchaser of wind energy in Iowa.
- Iowa is the third biggest wind energy producer in the US. Including ethanol and biodiesel production, it is the US number producer of New Energy.

Iowa is also developing one of the most interesting experiments in the country -- wind storage. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Aller, IPL: "We are pleased to play a role in expanding Iowa's role as the leader in renewable energy…The acquisition of this site located in the heartland of Iowa provides a significant economic development opportunity for our company and the state of Iowa."
- Gov. Culver: "With IPL's announcement, we further cement our position, and demonstrate once again Iowa's commitment to renewable energy, and to jobs in this growth industry…"