Jenna Ladd | June 3, 2016
Building Energy SPA has announced plans to partner with Des Moines renewable energy developer, Optimum Renewables, to build a multi-million dollar wind farm.
An Italian company, Building Energy SPA has constructed wind farms in the United States since 2013. This will be their first venture in Iowa. The group is financing the $56 million operation along with Capital One Bank. Capital One plans to put up more than half of the total cost, but will also reap Iowa’s wind energy tax credits.
The farm will stretch across Story, Boone, Hardin and Poweshiek counties, and consist of ten wind turbines total, equaling about 30 Mega Watts of energy. Developers expect the wind turbines to generate enough energy to power 11,000 U.S. homes, equal to taking roughly 21,ooo cars off the road. The project is on track to be completed by the end of 2016.
Iowa has long been a national leader in wind energy. Just this spring, it became the first state in the union to produce more than 30% of its energy using wind turbines. Governor Terry Branstand is optimistic about the resource’s future in his home state, stating that it has “the potential to jump above 40 percent in the next five years.” So far, wind farms have attracted $11.8 billion to Iowa’s economy.
