Tradewind Energy sells $500M Iowa wind energy project

Lenexa-based Tradewind Energy, one of the nation’s largest independent wind and solar developers, sold the North English Wind Project in Iowa to MidAmerican Energy Co.

Construction just started on the project, which represents an investment of about $500 million. Once fully constructed, North English can generate 340 megawatts of wind energy. During the next 40 years, the project is expected to pay about $137 million in property taxes and $114 million in rent to land owners, as well as create 100 temporary construction jobs and 12 to 15 permanent local jobs.

“We are thrilled to support Iowa’s continued leadership in wind energy through the development of the North English Wind Project,” Jeff Hammond, senior development manager for Tradewind, said in a release. “MidAmerican Energy Co. has a vision to provide 100 percent renewable energy for its customers, and it’s exciting to partner with them toward achieving that goal.”

According to its website, Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy serves 760,000 electric customers and 742,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska. The company is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Tradewind Energy develops utility-scale, alternative-power generation sites. It studies hundreds of sites nationwide, collecting data to find locations that are financially viable for wind turbines. Tradewind then negotiates long-term leases, studies the capacity of the power transmission grid, conducts environmental impact studies, starts the permitting process and finds buyers for the power generated by the project. Once the project is “derisked,” Tradewind sells it to a developer to get paid.

By James Dornbrook  –  Reporter, Kansas City Business Journal