Wow. Iowa leapfrogs in wind power.

MidAmerican Energy's 360.5 MW wind project -- 257 wind turbines in north central and northwest Iowa -- is now online. According to the company, this project makes MidAmerican the third leading owner of wind energy in the nation, by total generation capacity. The wind project itself is also one of the largest in the nation.

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MidAmerican announced plans to build a 310 MW wind facility in March 2003 following Gov. Tom Vilsack's challenge to state regulators, business leaders and utility companies to work toward achieving 1,000 MW of renewable energy generation in Iowa by 2010. In September 2005, MidAmerican completed the original 310.5 MW project. The additional 50 MW of electric generating capacity, approved by the Iowa Utilities Board in January 2005, was completed Dec. 13. Today, MidAmerican owns or has under contract 489 MW of renewable energy.

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The wind project is only one part of MidAmerican's commitment to a stable and diverse energy supply for Iowans. The Greater Des Moines Energy Center, a combined-cycle generating station that uses natural gas as its fuel source and has the capacity to generate 540 MW of electricity, was completed last December. Construction began in September 2003 on a 790-MW coal-fueled generating facility in Council Bluffs, which is scheduled to be in commercial operation in the second quarter 2007.