IDA GROVE II WIND FARM
Location: Ida County, Iowa
Project Timeline: Development began in 2017, construction began in early 2019, and the project was placed into service on December 22, 2019.
Number of Wind Turbines: 81
Energy Production: 202.36MW
Electrical Contractor and Engineer: Ulteig Engineers
Developer: Invenergy
Balance-of-Plant Contractor: Mortensen Construction
Owner: MidAmerican Energy Co.
MidAmerican Energy Co.’s vision is to provide clean, green energy at no net cost to its Iowa customers. With the new Ida Grove II wind farm now online, the Des Moines, Iowa-based utility is closer to its 100% renewable energy goal.
“We are well past the halfway mark, and we’re getting close to reaching our vision every day,” says Adam Jablonski, director, renewable energy development for MidAmerican Energy. “We built the Ida Grove II wind farm because we are expanding our wind energy fleet here in Iowa. The wind farm helps us to deliver up to 202.36MW of clean energy to our customers, which powers up to 85,000 average Iowa homes.”
Invenergy developed the wind farm about 60 miles east of Sioux City, Iowa. Following the development completion, MidAmerican purchased the development assets from Invenergy and constructed the project, located north of Ida Grove, Iowa, in Ida County.
“We selected this location after conducting wind and site studies,” Jablonski says. “Additionally, the site is near a transmission line, which enables us to connect the wind farm to the grid.”
To connect the wind farm to the nearby transmission line, MidAmerican Energy also installed a new substation. In addition, crews installed underground cables to connect the wind turbines to the substation, which was then connected to the grid.
MidAmerican Energy partnered with GE Renewables to supply the wind turbines and hired Mortensen Construction as the balance-of-plant contractor, and Ulteig Engineers as the electrical engineer and contractor.
The Ida Grove II Wind Farm was the seventeenth wind project built for MidAmerican Energy by Mortensen and the thirty-third Mortensen has built in Iowa. As part of its scope of work, Mortensen was responsible for the roads, foundations, underground collection, and the installation of turbines. Furthermore, the company performed all civil and high-voltage work. One of the most significant challenges on the project was the hilly terrain, Jablonski says.
“The fairly hilly terrain required additional grading and made it more challenging for crews to move equipment like cranes between turbines on the project area,” he says.
As with all wind projects, MidAmerican Energy had to focus on teamwork, planning, and organization to successfully bring the Ida Grove II Wind Farm online.
“Constructing wind farms takes an extraordinary amount of planning, coordinating, and logistics,” Jablonski says. “We work closely with our manufacturers, developers, and contractors to ensure we meet stringent seasonal construction schedules. Our construction activities are subject to external challenges, such as supply chain issues, workforce availability, and weather. And safety is always paramount.”
