Wind Energy

Acciona Windpower Awarded Over $3 Million to Install New Wind Turbines in Iowa

The Iowa Power Fund Board awarded over $3 million in grant funding to Acciona Windpower North America, LLC for a project to install their latest wind power generation turbine technology, the AW-3000 wind turbines, in Iowa. Acciona will leverage over $16 million in matching funds to bring the total project cost to over $19.9 million.

The Board’s grant support will help commercialize the AW-3000 wind turbine, the first 3 MW wind turbines to be installed in North America wind farm plants by Acciona Windpower, and initially build two test wind turbines, one on a concrete tower, the other on a steel tower. Grant funds will assist in the commercialization of these test wind turbines at the Cedar County, Iowa site. Tower construction is scheduled to start in late summer of this year, with project completion by spring of 2012.

Following commercialization of the technology, Acciona will manufacture the AW-3000 family of wind turbines in Iowa to be sold in North America, and will maximize its West Branch plant operations and employees, for production.

The new wind turbine technology is important to Iowa’s wind energy industry by allowing for increased height of the towers and to be built on site without costly transport. In addition, the increased tower height will allow installation in non-traditional wind farm locations with less than an optimal wind path, yet still operate productively and efficiently.

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