Iowa Orders Vestas Turbines for Giant Wind Power Project

By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.KO) said Friday that it had received a partial order for Iowa's biggest wind power project from a U.S. utility owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The 214-megawatt order, which will be delivered in the form of two-megawatt turbines, is part of MidAmerican Energy's $3.6 billion Wind XI project, which was approved last month by the Iowa Utilities Board. Future orders and deliveries for the project are expected to come in bursts under a master agreement, and will be announced as they occur, Vestas said.

The Wind XI project will have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts when completed in 2019, bringing MidAmerican's power mix to around 85% renewables, close to its long-term 100% renewable energy target. Vestas said the order would benefit from a U.S. production tax credit for renewable energy that was extended last year.

"As the only state to generate more than 30% of its energy from wind, Iowa leads the country," said Chris Brown, president of Vestas' sales and service division in the U.S. and Canada. "It's an honor to be a part of the largest wind project in the state's history."

MidAmerican Energy serves around 752,000 electricity buyers and 733,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2016 05:19 ET (09:19 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.