MidAmerican Energy to bring first utility-scale solar project online in November

MidAmerican Energy brought its first utility-scale solar energy project closer to operation this week, promising 3 MW of generation come November and more solar projects to follow.

In all, the Waterloo, Iowa-based project will contain nearly 10,000 solar panels with the capacity to power about 650 Iowa homes on average. In addition to the Waterloo solar array, MidAmerican plans to have solar projects online this year, including the 3-MW Hills solar project near Iowa City, 4-MW Neal solar project near Sioux City, 7-MW Franklin solar project in Franklin County, 24-MW Arbor Hill solar project in Adair County and 20-MW at the Holliday Creek solar project in Webster County. The company will add another 80-MW at Holliday Creek next year.

“As we place more solar projects online over the next few months and years, they will boost the amount of clean, renewable energy we can provide to our customers,” said Mike Fehr, senior vice president of renewable generation and compliance at MidAmerican. “And we’re doing it while also keeping our rates here in Iowa affordable – currently the 11th lowest in the nation. We are proud of the progress we’ve made in delivering renewable energy to our customers, but that’s not where the road ends. MidAmerican is striving to reach a net-zero future.”

While the solar push is the company’s current focus, renewables at large are the company’s current goal. Last year, MidAmerican delivered 83.6 percent of its customers’ energy from renewable sources — mostly wind energy. Its Iowa customers can claim a verified amount of renewable energy at no added charge through its GreenAdvantage program. MidAmerican intends to investigate further renewable generation, non-carbon generation technologies such as nuclear power, better transmission infrastructure to support non-carbon sources and access, and energy storage capabilities.