MidAmerican Energy Co., a utility unit at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), expects to complete the 1,050-megawatt Wind VIII development in Iowa this year after finishing three of five wind farms in the fourth quarter.
The Wellsburg wind farm in Grundy County was connected to the grid in December, joining Lundgren in Webster County and Macksburg in Madison County, which were completed in November. Vienna II in Marshall County was finished in 2013. Only the 495-megawatt Highland in O’Brien County remains.
“By 2016, we’ll be able to produce enough energy from wind to meet the equivalent of approximately half of the electricity needs of our retail customers,” Adam Wright, vice president of wind generation and development for MidAmerican, said today in a statement.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based utility, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., provides electricity to 739,000 customers and natural gas to about 719,000.
MidAmerican will have invested more than $6 billion in wind-generation projects by 2016. Wind VIII, composed of 448 turbines, is expected to cost about $1.9 billion.
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