The attached letter was sent by MidAmerican Energy to participating landowners in Madison County IA informing the landowners that the had company decided not to proceed with the construction of the Arbor Hill wind energy facility and that their lease agreements would be terminated. The project was originally permitted by the county in July 2018.
The attached letter was sent by MidAmerican Energy to participating landowners in Madison County IA informing the landowners that the had company decided not to proceed with the construction of the Arbor Hill wind energy facility and that their lease agreements would be terminated. The project was originally permitted by the county in July 2018.
July 21, 2022
Re: Arbor Hill Wind Farm — Madison County
Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX:
Thank you for your support of the Arbor Hill Wind Farm. As you know, MidAmerican has been evaluating this site since 2017 but has been unable to proceed with construction due to a number of challenges that the project has faced in Madison County.
MidAmerican originally received the necessary permits to construct the project from Madison County in July 2018. Most recently, in February 2022, the. Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to allow MidAmerican to construct the project with a smaller footprint than originally approved. Since that action, MidAmerican has been assessing the viability of proceeding. Unfortunately, after a thorough review, due to a number of outstanding issues including some committed landowners wishing to be released from their easement agreements — MidAmerican has determined that we are unable to continue the construction of Arbor Hill.
While we understand this may not be your desired outcome, we do want to thank you for your willingness to participate in the project and advocate for renewable energy and its benefits for your community and the state. While MidAmerican won't proceed with Arbor Hill, we will continue to operate 37 projects in 32 Iowa counties. Thanks in large part to those projects, in 2021, MidAmerican delivered its Iowa customers the equivalent of 88.5% of the electricity used in that year from renewable sources. In addition to the environmental benefits, those projects also result in nearly $36 million in property tax revenue and $38 million in landowner payments annually for the communities where they are located.
In the coming months, MidAmerican will terminate your easement and draft and record documentation to memorialize that action. Once the documentation is complete, MidAmerican will provide you copies for your records. Once again, thank you for participation in the Arbor Hill Wind Farm. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at (515) 281-2203.
Sincerely,
Matt Ott
Project Developer, Resource Development
MidAmerican Energy
(800) 632-0999
