January 24, 2012
Iowa

Wind company proposes plan for Northwest Iowa

By Christy Batien, Morning Anchor, KTIV, www.ktiv.com 23 January 2012

A northwest Iowa county has been chosen as the site for a $250-million wind energy converter station. O’Brien County was chosen by Clean Line Energy Partners last week, although a specific site hasn’t been picked. The company says 2,000 wind turbines will need to be built around the converter station, in several northwest Iowa communities to help transfer the energy.

Clean Line is looking to use this converter stations to transfer wind energy from northwest Iowa to Illinois. Hans Detweiler, Director of Development for Clean Line Energy says, “We have done a number of intricate studies looking at the wind patterns throughout northwest Iowa and the adjacent states and we believe that O’Brien County is the best and most economical location.”

Clean Line Energy will still need to get state and federal approval for its route. They have already filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Company officials expect the regulatory process to take around two years. They hope to start construction in Iowa in late 2014 and be complete by 2016.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/24/wind-company-proposes-plan-for-northwest-iowa/