Building Energy SpA opens 30 MW wind farm in Iowa

Milan - Building Energy SpA, the multinational company which operates as Global Integrated IPP in the renewable energy sector, has opened its first wind farm in Iowa, with a 30 MW capacity. The project, set up north of Des Moines in Story, Boone, Hardin and Poweshiek counties, will generate approx. 110 GWh of energy per year.

The plant's inauguration was celebrated with the "Wind of Life" event, organised in Ames, Iowa. It was attended by Andrea Braccialarghe, Managing Director America of Building Energy, Alessandro Bragantini, Chief Operating Officer of Building Energy, Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Consul General of Italy, and George Revock, Managing Director and Head of Alternative Energy and Project Finance at Capital One Bank. The overall investment for the construction of the wind generation farm in Iowa amounted to 58 million dollars. Its energy sales are supported by a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed with a local utility.

The project was partially funded by Capital One Bank with approximately 33 million dollars. The wind farm, developed, funded and part of the portfolio of plants owned and operated by the Italian multinational Building Energy, is made up of 10 geared onshore wind turbines, each of which has a rotor diameter of 125-metres and a 3MW generator mounted on an 87.5 metre steel tower. The energy produced will meet the energy needs of 11,000 households every year while avoiding the emission of 70,000 tonnes/year of CO2 (calculated according to the methodology of the U.S.Environmental Agency), the equivalent yearly CO2 emission of approximately 15,000 automobiles.