Iowa’s newest wind farm project is being planned for Delaware County, in the state’s northeast corner. The County Board of Supervisors has given its approval to the proposed Elk Wind Farm project.
Between 17 and 27 wind towers are expected to go up south of Edgewood and west of Greeley. Steve Dryden is the owner of R-P-M Access, which will build and run the 41-megawatt facility. They hope to start construction before winter with the full farm up and running before December 31st, 2011.
The project would cover more than three-thousand acres of farmland, though only 12 acres of cropland would actually be used for the wind farm. The project would affect at least 30 landowners who have already signed contracts. Dryden says their support for the potential project is one of the reasons why R-P-M chose Delaware County.
R-P-M says of all eight projects the company has under development in and around Iowa, the Elk Wind Farm project is taking the lead. The project will bring 75 jobs to the area during the construction phase. Once it is operational, it will provide three or four full-time jobs.
Thanks to Janelle Tucker, KMCH, Manchester