MidAmerican Energy is developing a 100-turbine wind-power project in Carroll County that will stretch from just inside Carroll's two-mile limit to Breda. The $300 million turbine project started in recent days with the construction of access roads and other initial work, Tom Budler, Mid-American's general manager for wind power, said in an interview with the Daily Times Herald. MidAmerican plans to move swiftly on the project. "It will absolutely be on the line by the end of 2008," Budler said. ...Budler and other MidAmerican officials were in Carroll Monday for a city council meeting to discuss a proposed ordinance that would affect seven of the 100 turbines. Those seven would be in the jurisdiction of the city, and officials want more information about height, setbacks and possible impact on other development before any ordinance goes into effect.

ORIENT - Landowners in Adair County may be better equipped to understand MidAmerican Energy's efforts to install wind turbines on their land. An informational meeting at Orient-Macksburg High School Thursday evening included presentations from Wind Turbine Specialist Tom Wind; Iowa State University Agriculture Law Professor Roger McEowen and MidAmerican Energy General Manager of Wind Development Tom Budler. Budler said there are five meteorological towers up in the area, which are being used to study the feasibility of installing wind turbines in Adair County. He said the studies, which began this month, should conclude by mid-August.

Members of a city review board unofficially agreed Tuesday that installing a personal wind turbine on a residential property just inside the Marshalltown city limits would be a good fit, but they held off from steering the beginnings of a residential wind turbine policy that currently does not exist. "There are a litany of other issues. I have very little problem with your property," Board of Adjustment member Sherm Welker told Garland and Julie Schossow, who sought a variance to the 35-foot height limitation at their 1811 E. Merle Hibbs Blvd. home in order to put up a 71-foot tall windmill, "but if I say yes to you, how can I justify a no to somebody else? We're making up the rules as we go and even though we have the authority, I don't know if that's in the public's best interest."

California-based Clipper Windpower Inc. is working on plans to create Iowa's largest wind turbine farm, producing up to 300 megawatts of electricity near Adair. The company already has other wind energy operations in Iowa, including a 200-employee wind turbine assembly plant in Cedar Rapids. Clipper's announcement is the latest example of Iowa's growing wind energy industry, including wind farms and the manufacture of wind turbine generators. Alliant Energy, for example, announced plans in April to develop the state's largest wind farm, a 200-megawatt operation, also near Adair. Clipper's project, however, would be larger in terms of electrical generation. Newton is hoping to become the site of a 723-employee factory run by a company that manufacturers wind-turbine blades and other products. Currently 967 megawatts of electricity, or about 5 percent of the state total, are produced by about 950 wind turbines in Iowa, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Clipper, in a statement, says it has secured more than 2,000 acres in the Adair area under Windpark Easement Agreements that provide royalties for each wind turbine placed on a property owner's land. Clipper is still seeking additional land.

The moratorium, expected to last three to six months, would give city officials time to craft an ordinance and work together with other cities to create a consistent ordinance to govern the use of wind turbines in the metro. Currently, Clive city officials know of only one resident, Kevin Babb, who plans to install a wind turbine.

Conditional use permits and zoning variances for a proposed $200 million wind farm have been approved by Franklin County. The action came at a public hearing held Thursday night, Sept. 14, at the Hampton-Dumont Middle School by the Franklin County Board of Adjustment. About 100 people attended the meeting, which included outlining some details of the plans for the wind farm, which is being planned by Iowa Winds, LLC, of Iowa Falls. The permits, with standard setbacks of 1,200 feet from residences, were approved for proposed parcels in Marion, Morgan, Hamilton, Oakland, Lee, Grant and Osceola townships. Parcels in Reeve Township also were approved, but with a stipulation of a 2,500-foot setback from public use facilities such as Mallory Park, Maynes Grove Park, and the Maysville Schoolhouse.

The Coralville City Council directed the mayor to submit a letter to the Johnson County Board of Adjustment recommending a wind turbine not be placed in an open area north of Coralville at its meeting Tuesday. Todd Hammond of Iowa Energy Alternatives had planned to install the turbine near the First Christian Church on Lincolnshire Place, off North Dubuque Street.

The Marshalltown City Council Monday looked to put some regulations on electricity-generating wind turbines. The move came on the heels of Marshalltown's first application for a large-scale wind turbine which was proposed to be put on a property off of Merle Hibbs Boulevard. While the turbines have caught on in rural areas, they have been slow to infiltrate urban areas. "There's nothing addressed in the section at all about wind turbines," said City Planner Stephen Troskey. "This section is all new."

The Board of Supervisors moved closer on Tuesday to a wind energy ordinance that could attract renewable energy businesses to Floyd County. The Supervisors passed the first reading of an ordinance which would offer a tax exemption to new wind farms or turbines. Wind energy producers would receive a tax exemption on a 20-year, sliding scale. The first year of operation the owner would be taxed on zero percent of the net acquisition costs, adding five percent until year seven, when the rate would stay at 30 percent. No comments were given during a public hearing on the ordinance.

Growing interest in wind power has prompted Des Moines-area leaders to consider a uniform ordinance to provide consistent regulation of small-scale wind energy turbines in residential areas. Rules currently vary among Iowa cities on whether residents can add wind turbines on their properties. Some cities have banned turbines, while others regulate their size. Others do not allow turbines on small lots, but do on larger parcels. Members of the Metro Advisory Council, a group of elected officials, recently decided to examine how best to handle wind power projects.

A Dubuque County couple trying to get permission to erect a wind turbine on their property is one step closer to their goal. The Dubuque County Supervisors gave the couple its permission last (Monday) night. Kathy and Fritz White want to put the turbine on their eight-acre property to provide electricity for their home.

A Mitchell County man is developing a plan for a $30 million, 20-megawatt wind farm owned by local investors a few miles north of Osage. The project is tentatively being called the Cedar River Wind Farm and would have eight 2.5-megawatt wind turbines that would connect with an Alliant Energy 69,000-volt transmission line at the Kirkwood Avenue Substation at Osage. The man said he wished to remain anonymous, but information about the project was confirmed by Mitchell County Economic Development Director Brenda Dryer, who is assisting in the project.

HAMPTON — Franklin County’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved 192 applications for conditional use permits and variances Thursday, advancing one of the nation’s most ambitious wind farm projects. The permits cover 350 farm fields involved in the Franklin County Wind Farm project, County Zoning Administrator Russell Wood said Friday. Some landowners have multiple parcels. Iowa Winds LLC of Iowa Falls plans to build a 200- to 300-megawatt wind farm covering about 40,000 acres around Bradford in southern Franklin County.

Because of growing trend, city wants to make ordinance more detailed; it will be voted on later this month. Johnston is the latest in a list of Des Moines area cities to consider regulations related to construction and use of wind turbines. ...Councilman Gerd Clabaugh is wary of allowing an increased presence of turbines in a community that is growing both residentially and commercially.

HAMPTON, Iowa - Northern Iowa could have one of the nation's largest wind farms by 2008. Iowa Winds LLC wants to build a 200- to 300-megawatt farm covering about 40,000 acres in Franklin County. A county zoning board will consider approving permits for the $200 million project next month.

Mercer County Board Chairman Tom Harris touted the potential for wind farms during his annual “State of the County Address” this week. “We have three different companies interested in establishing wind farms here in Mercer County,” he said. He identified the three as Invenergy from the Chicago area, British Petroleum and Florida Light and Power. The county now is conducting a wind feasibility study with a test tower placed near the Mercer County Highway Department just west of Aledo. The county received a $14,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation for the study.

State regulators have given Iowa's largest utility the green light for boosting its capacity to generate electricity using wind power. Allan Urlis, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy, says Iowa's quickly becoming a national leader in harnessing the blowing breezes to power our homes and businesses.

MidAmerican Energy Co. plans to expand its wind energy site in Pocahontas County and establish new wind farms at six other locations, including two more in western Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Board gave MidAmerican the go-ahead to add up to 540 megawatts of new wind energy generation. In conjunction with the regulatory approval, MidAmerican said it would add 75 megawatts, or 50 turbines, to a project under construction near Pomeroy, MidAmerican spokesman Allan Urlis said Tuesday. It originally called for 123 megawatts. The project, being built by enXco Development Corp., is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. MidAmerican officials also are scouting for potential wind energy sites near the cities of Carroll, Spencer, Adair, Charles City, Orient and Walnut, Urlis said.

Wind turbines are a very real possibility for Adair County in the near future. MidAmerican Energy will be erecting six meteorological towers immediately to measure wind velocity and to gather information on wind patterns in Adair and Union counties. Representatives from MidAmerican met with Adair County residents at Orient-Macksburg High School May 24 to discuss plans for installing wind turbines. Brian Rohrig of rural Orient attended the meeting and said MidAmerican's plans seemed well-received.

Plans for a $600 million 300-megawatt wind farm in North Iowa are moving forward. The Iowa Utilities Board granted a regulatory waiver last week to Horizon Wind Energy to create its Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm in Howard and Mitchell counties. The waiver allows two of the 12 lines receiving electricity from the turbines to be over the 25-megawatt limit. Construction is expected to begin this year, said Doug Jones, senior project manager. Jones and other local company officials work out of offices in Grand Meadow, Minn. ...The company also got a waiver of property owner notification requirements. State regulators say it's not necessary since wind projects don't have the same noise and environmental issues as gas or coal-fired facilities.