Mid-American Energy is looking to expand its use of wind energy. Company spokesman Kevin Waetke says the utility just put out a “request for proposals” for a wind developer in northwest Iowa. Mid-American is offering to buy 100 megawatts of power from the developer who builds the wind farm. Waetke says the power company has received seven or eight proposals so far, and is looking at a couple of factors. Those factors are can they produce enough, at a good enough price. The new wind farm would be in Iowa’s northwest quadrant.Waetke says buying 100-megawatts would double the amount of wind energy Mid-American buys.Wind would be about five-percent of the total electric generation of Mid-American, with 4-thousand megawatts to serve customers’ needs. Waetke says the company would be like the new wind-farm to be online by June 2002.
