MidAmerican Renewables, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, has acquired the ongoing Bishop Hill II wind energy project from Invenergy Wind, a developer and operator of large-scale renewable energy generation facilities in North America and Europe.
The 81 MW wind energy project is currently under construction in Henry County, Illinois. The Bishop Hill II project, the second phase of Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center, will include 50 units of 1.62 MW wind turbines from General Electric. The construction started in 4Q of 2011 and the facility is anticipated to begin the commercial operation in 4Q of 2012. The project has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Ameren Illinois.
Bishop Hill I is the first phase of Invenergy’s Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center. The project is also under construction and features 133 units of General Electric’s wind turbines. The Bishop Hill I wind project will start the commercial operation in mid-2012 and it will be entirely owned and operated by Invenergy.
Jim Murphy, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Invenergy, stated that MidAmerican Renewables is an ideal partner for them and also for the local community that hosts the Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center.
Bill Fehrman, MidAmerican Renewables’ President, remarked that the acquisition of the Bishop Hill II wind project expands the company’s renewable energy asset portfolio. The company continues to focus on expanding its portfolio of clean energy projects through purchase of projects similar to Bishop Hill II, concluded Fehrman.