World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

March 23, 2003 – Vol.7 No.52

WORLD WIND WATCH.

The largest land-based wind farm in the world could sprout in the farmlands of Iowa by 2006. Now in the planning stages, the 310-megawatt facility with 180-200 turbines would be built by MidAmerican Energy at an as yet to be determined site in northwest or north-central Iowa. The project needs a go-ahead by the Iowa Public Utilities Board as well as legislation in the state regarding the ownership and operation of renewable energy.

MidAmerican is controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett through Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway. Visit MidAmerican Energy at http://www.midamerican.com/ .

In the second round of proposals organized by the Crown Estate for offshore wind farms in the U.K., an astounding 29 firms submitted plans for facilities at 70 sites. Though some of the proposals are overlapped by competing companies, and thus won’t all be built, the proposals have a combined capacity of 20 gigawatts. Project size ranges from 100 megawatts to as much as 2000 megawatts with more than 400 turbines. Turbines needed for this proposal, 5 megawatts, are still in the development stage.

Details of each proposal will be made public in the coming months as the Crown Estate, which manages the seabed and territorial waters surrounding the U.K., formally opens the proposal process for this second round in June. The first round of offshore wind farms is in the approval stage, or under construction. Visit the Crown Estate at http://www.crownestate.co.uk/ .

As an example of how far business opportunities in renewable energy can extend, New Century Companies which manufactures and remanufactures large machine tools, has received a $530,000 follow-on order for a special drilling machine to be used by an undisclosed manufacturer to make parts for bearings used in wind turbines.

New Century apparently has had similar orders, for the same purposes, with the same bearing manufacturer in the past. New Century is looking to the wind energy industry for additional business in the future. Visit New Century at http://www.newcenturyinc.com/