MIDAMERICAN ENERGY
MidAmerican powers-up its largest solar array, sixth in 2022
100-megawatt solar site in Webster County caps 141 MW of solar expansion this year

At its peak, the Webster County project's 265,000 solar panels can generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 19,000 average Iowa homes.

The six solar energy sites range from 3 MW to 100 MW. In addition to the Webster County site, MidAmerican added arrays in Adair, Franklin, Johnson and Woodbury counties, and in the city of Waterloo.
 

"We placed our first utility-scale solar array online in January near Iowa City, and we've been working at a rapid pace since then, flipping the switch at five more solar sites, including our largest to date, the 100-megawatt Holliday Creek project northeast of Fort Dodge," Mike Fehr, senior vice president of renewable generation and compliance, said. "This year opens up a new chapter for us in MidAmerican's growing renewable energy fleet that delivers clean, low-cost, sustainable domestic energy to our customers."
 

Solar energy complements wind

MidAmerican operates the largest wind energy fleet of any investor-owned utility in the nation. Through the company's GreenAdvantage program, which applies to all MidAmerican electric customers in Iowa at no additional cost to them, the company enables every customer to claim a verified renewable energy amount, which in 2021, was 88.5%.
 

Adding solar energy to MidAmerican's generation portfolio is part of the company's all-of-the-above approach to delivering affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to customers.
 

"Our latest and largest solar array is a timely addition to our renewables fleet," Fehr said. "When our customers use their air conditioners to keep cool on hot and sunny summer afternoons, solar energy is typically at or near its greatest output. When coupled with our wind fleet, MidAmerican's customers receive the benefits of renewable energy throughout the year."
 

Company plans additional wind and solar

MidAmerican's proposed Wind PRIME project would raise MidAmerican's GreenAdvantage figure to 100% by enabling the company to provide renewable energy equal to its Iowa customers' annual usage upon completion in 2025. The project, which is pending before the Iowa Utilities Board, would add more than 2,000 megawatts of wind generation and 50 megawatts of solar energy.
 

Net-zero goal

MidAmerican has set a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While thermal generation will remain necessary for the foreseeable future to maintain reliability, Wind PRIME includes a plan to invest in studying and pursuing emerging lower and noncarbon generation technologies.