Dive Summary:

• MidAmerican Energy received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to move forward with the Wind VIII project it’s building in association with Facebook and the social media company’s new data center in Altoona, Iowa. Google has also shown interest in Wind VIII as it plans to expand in the Council Bluffs area.
• The utility will build 1,050 megawatts (MW) of wind generation, following board approval Friday.
• Construction will commence this September for the Iowa-based utility and be completed by 2015, in time to meet requirements for the federal wind production tax credit. The five sites are in Grundy, Madison, Marshall, O'Brien and Webster counties.

From the article:

“The Iowa Utilities Board said in an order issued Friday that the settlement resolved issues raised by the consumer advocate and set the return on equity at a compromise rate of 11.625% and 10% for funds used during construction, the order said.”