PRIMGHAR, Iowa | Driving north on U.S. Highway 59 into Primghar, dozens of wind turbines appear on the horizon in every direction.
There are 214 of them in what's known as Highland Wind Farm, and all of them are now online and providing renewable energy for MidAmerican Energy Co.
"Highland is complete," MidAmerican spokeswoman Ruth Comer said.
The farm was placed in service on Dec. 3.
More turbines are on the way. O'Brien Wind Farm, which will have 104 turbines in the northern part of the county, and Ida Grove Wind Farm in Ida County, which will have 134 turbines, are expected to be finished by the end of the year.
"Work has started on those sites for construction in 2016," Comer said.
MidAmerican invested tens of millions of dollars to secure land easements and erect the turbines in the Highland Wind Farm, but, as project manager Adam Jablonski pointed out during a media tour in October, there's no ongoing cost for raw materials when it comes to wind energy.
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"The wind is free, and we take full advantage of that," Jablonski said last fall before reporters and photographers were allowed to climb to the top of one of the turbines.
Media members unable to make the climb checked out the interior of the base of the tower and saw the sheer size of the electrical transformers and other equipment stored inside. Seeing all that gear, it's surprising that it takes only three weeks from excavation until a turbine is operational.
It's also surprising each turbine and the access road to it takes up less than half an acre of farm land, property for which local farmers are compensated and receive an annual lease payment. Jablonski said the amount of those leases on more than 300 easements needed for the project is confidential between MidAmerican and the landowners, but "it's more than they'll get off their crops."
The Highland project, which will have the capacity to generate 502 megawatts of power, is MidAmerican's largest, Jablonski said, and, when completed, was one of the 10 largest in the country.
"The more wind power we produce, the less we have to use our coal and natural gas resources," Jablonski said.
That wind power is also producing a windfall for local businesses that have served hundreds of workers who have been in the area since construction began in 2013. Once they leave, the county will continue to benefit. Jablonski said MidAmerican will pay an estimated $42.5 million in property taxes in O'Brien County in the first 10 years after the project is done.
Tom Farnsworth, a member of the O'Brien County Board of Supervisors, said it's estimated that each turbine will generate $18,000 in property taxes per year.
"It's going to benefit roads, bridges, the school system. There will be more for townships for their fire departments," Farnsworth said. "When you put this all together, it's going to help O'Brien County."
Once the wind farms in O'Brien and Ida counties are finished this year, MidAmerican will have more than 2,000 turbines in 23 Iowa counties with a generating capacity of 4,048 megawatts.
There are no other projects currently under development, but Comer said the energy company likely isn't finished developing alternative energy resources.
"We're going to continue to look for opportunities wherever they make sense," Comer said.
