IEA to build 300 MW Kansas wind farm

Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives (IEA), an infrastructure construction company, announced a new wind energy project.

The deal is for construction of the Neosho Ridge Wind power project in Neosho County, Kansas — an approximate 300 MW wind farm that is expected to provide enough energy to power up to 100,000 homes.

The wind farm will use 139 Vestas wind turbines, with power delivered to the Kansas electrical grid.
Apex Clean Energy, which develops, constructs, and operates utility-scale wind energy and solar power facilities across North America, is the lead developer on the wind farm.

“The Neosho Ridge Wind power project is an excellent example of the continued strong demand for clean energy and the ongoing opportunities we see as the leader in the wind construction business,” said JP Roehm, IEA’s Chief Executive Officer.

Once IEA receives the full notice to proceed, the scope of IEA’s work will include wind turbine installation, public road maintenance, turbine access roads, MV collection system installation, and the construction of a high-voltage project substation and transmission line connecting the project to the electrical grid.

The U.S. wind power industry increased its overall capacity by 8% in 2018 to 96,433 megawatts. That more than doubled the capacity level at the start of this decade and is enough to power more than 30 million homes, according to American Wind Energy Association data. New private investment in wind projects installed in 2018 alone exceeded $12 billion.

Additionally, as the cost of developing renewable energy continues to decline, new-build wind capacity is projected to become cost-competitive with existing conventional energy plants in the next decade, according to a 2019 McKinsey & Company analysis.

As such, McKinsey forecasts continued growth in renewable energy investments, including wind, for several years. The share of renewables in global power generation could grow from around 25% today to 50% by 2035 and 75% by 2050, according to the McKinsey report.

IEA is a leading builder of wind energy projects in the U.S. The company has assembled more than 7,200 wind turbines across North America.