By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In a deal that moved Iowa one step closer to becoming the nation’s top wind energy producer, Alliant Energy Corp. last week signed a $817 million master supply agreement to purchase 303 wind turbines from Denmark-based Vestas–American Wind Technology, Inc., the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer.

“Our company is pleased to partner with Vestas, who is a recognized leader in the wind generation industry,” said Kim Zuhlke, Alliant Energy vice president, new energy resources. “Vestas will play an important role in our company’s next step in expanding its renewable energy supply portfolio.”

Under the agreement, which became effective June 1, Vestas would provide the Cedar Rapids-based power company’s wholly-owned utility subsidiaries, Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Co. (WPL), with 303 Vestas’ V82–1.65 megawatt wind turbines to support Alliant Energy’s utility-owned wind generation plan.

“Given our company’s aggressive wind generation expansion plans, we believe it is important that we procure the infrastructure necessary to complete the generation build-out on-time and at a reasonable cost to customers,” Zuhlke added.

Moreover, the agreement stated that Vestas’ turbines would have a total installed capacity of 500 megawatts and be delivered in three groups, with Vestas commencing delivery of the first group of turbines in 2009.

The delivery of final two groups of turbines would begin in 2010, with the order continuing into 2011.

The total purchase price for the wind turbine equipment under the agreement is expected to be approximately $817 million, subject to adjustments, Alliant Energy officials said.

The company expects the wind turbine equipment to meet the utilities-owned wind generation plan, including IPL’s Whispering Willow Wind Farm-East project, which is a 200-megawatt site located in Franklin County, Iowa, supporting a portion of other anticipated utility-owned wind generation projects in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

“We are extremely proud to supply the wind turbines to Alliant Energy’s projects and to continue our long-standing working relationship with Alliant Energy,” said Jens Soby, president of Vestas Americas A/S.

Soby added that a total of 500 megawatts of wind generating capacity would make a significant contribution to the company’s power supply in the states where the turbines will be installed.
Zuhlke said Alliant Energy is committed to providing our customers with balanced energy solutions that are environmentally re-sponsible, reliable and cost-effective.

“Combined with our investments in hybrid baseload generation and energy conservation, we believe expansion in renewable energy resources is the right choice for our customers, environment and economy,” she said.

Headquartered in Madison, Wis., Alliant Energy has been a long-term customer of Vestas, and most recently, in June 2007, Vestas received an order for the supply of V82-1.65 MW turbines to Alliant Energy’s Cedar Ridge Wind Farm in Wisconsin.

Soby said Vestas is extremely proud to supply the wind turbines to Alliant Energy’s projects and continue its long-standing working relationship with the northeast Iowa utility.

“A total of 500 MW of wind generating capacity will make a significant contribution to the power supply in all three states where the turbines will be installed,” he said.

Soby added that the order is further proof that wind is poised to become a major player in the national energy mix.

“What we have seen so far in the USA is just the beginning,” he said.

“With a stable federal political framework in place that will allow for planning in the medium and long term, the industry can start to fully utilize the abundant wind resources in this country.”

In an Iowa Utilities Board ruling on April 30, Alliant Energy would be required to obtain 25 percent of its power from wind in Iowa by 2028. The board had approved Alliant Energy’s plans for a $1.3 billion coal-fired generating station in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Alliant Energy previously held discussions with Clipper Windpower, a Cedar Rapids-based wind turbine manufacturer, and others before choosing Vestas, which has captured 23 percent of the global wind turbine market, totaling 35,000 turbines.

Last month, MidAmerican Energy Co. in Davenport, Iowa, which is the nation’s leader in ownership of wind-powered electric generation among regulated utilities, opened the Charles City Wind Farm in Charles City. The new upper northeast Iowa wind farm has 50 1.5 megawatt turbines that produce enough electricity to power 75,000 homes.

In August 2006, Siemens Power Generation, Inc., a Munich, Germany-based wind turbine manufacturer, a unit of Siemens AG, located its first U.S. turbine blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa.
According to the American Wind Energy Assoc. (AWEA), California, Texas, Iowa and Minnesota are the four states leading the nation in current wind energy capacity.

A recent report released by the U.S. Department of Energy said wind power could provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030. In 2007, new wind projects accounted for about 30 percent of the entire new power-generating capacity added in the United States.