MidAmerican concretes the future

MidAmerican Energy Company will include for the first time a concrete turbine tower at its new wind farm in Adams County in Iowa.

The company has contracted Siemens for the supply and construction of the tower’s design.

Both companies view the tower as a prototype that could serve as the model for other concrete turbine towers at future wind farms and could open up low-to-medium wind resource areas of Iowa for future wind development.

The 2.3-megawatt concrete tower turbine at the Adams wind farm will measure 377 feet from ground to hub, compared to 263 feet for most of the turbines in use at other MidAmerican Energy wind farms.

In addition to the local supply and construction of the Siemens concrete tower, Siemens sourced the concrete formwork from EFCO Corp in Des Moines and supplied the wind turbine blades for the entire Adams project from the Siemens blade factory in Ft. Madison, Iowa.

The concrete turbine is one of 64 wind turbines planned for the Adams wind farm. Construction is underway on the 154MW project, and all turbines are scheduled to be erected by the end of 2015.

MidAmerican said the tower will provide support for the tallest land-based wind turbine ever built in the USA, which will be able to capture wind energy generated at higher altitudes.

MidAmerican vice president, renewable energy Mike Gehringer said: “Advancements in turbine design and construction techniques are opening up new opportunities for development of renewable resources.

“We want to continue to lead in bringing innovative energy solutions to our customers and the state of Iowa.”

Image: Siemens turbines at a MidAmerican facility (MidAmerica)