The largest renewable energy generator in the state of Indiana is being planned for construction by Virginia-based power company AES Corp., the Associated Press (AP) reported last Saturday (July 4). The wind farm will be made up of about 200 towers, to be built on a 75,000-acre of land along the Clinton-Tipton county line, according to the Indianapolis Star. Project cost is estimated at $1 billion.

The wind farm is expected to generate 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power around 400,000 homes, AES vice president Paul Burdick told AP. Turbines will be set up by next year, Burdick added.

Payments ranging from $5,000 to 10,000, along with payments for easements on lines and access roads, were reportedly offered by AES to Indiana landowners and farmers. Said payments were considered as the best deals. In total, the income could reach $2 million or more in annual lease payments, reportedly a fraction of the $100 million that farmers make from grain production. AES is nearly done with all its lease negotiations.

Other factors such as AES’ being a US company, its capability of completing the project, and its ownership of Indianapolis Power & Light company (the project’s utility server & AES’ subsidiary), further made Indianapolis residents favor the project, as suggested by the AP report.

AES’ renewable energy projects include wind, hydroelectricity, and biomass. The company has the capacity to serve 100 million customers worldwide and it currently employs a global workforce of 25,000 people.


- Jen Balboa

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Sources:

¹ http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed...
² http://www.aes.com/aes/index?page=about_us