Mid American Energy Company has announced the hiring of a wind turbine manufacturer and general contractor for a proposed wind turbine expansion project covering four northwest and north-central Iowa counties. Mitsubishi Power Systems Incorporated will manufacture and M.A. Mortensen Company will erect the fifty additional wind turbines for the utility company’s project. Mid American Director of Media Relations Allan Urlis gives an overview of the proposed project. Mid American received regulatory approval to expand its 310-point-five megawatt Iowa wind project by an additional fifty megawatts. Urlis says work continues to progress at the company’s two project locations in northwest and north-central Iowa.Urlis says the proposed expansion will not have a direct impact on the electric service rates of Mid American energy customers.When the entire project is completed at the end of the year, 257 wind turbines will be on-line with the capability to produce enough energy for 100-thousand homes. It also means about nine percent of the company’s electric generating capability will come from renewable energy sources.