Partnering to build a cleaner tomorrow
Our partner landowners are part of the MidAmerican Energy family and are proud to have a hand in creating clean energy in Iowa.
Landowner Evie owns a 160-acre farm in Grundy County, Iowa, and hosts three turbines for our Wellsburg wind project.
Evie and her husband, Wally, met in Wellsburg and stayed there to start a family. Wally had a passion for conservation, planting trees and prairie, preserving diverse plant life and learning everything he could about clean energy methods. So, it was only natural that when a potential wind project in Wellsburg was announced, the couple jumped at the chance to join the list of interested landowners.
Evie said Wally was beyond excited at the prospect of generating electricity in a clean way right there on the farm and being able to give it back to their community. When construction began in 2014, Wally took pictures throughout the process. Wally tragically passed away unexpectedly before the turbines on his farm were completed.
Evie honored her husband by carrying on his legacy, capturing photos of the remaining turbine construction and even making a slideshow of the entire process, which she presented to her grandchild’s class at school.
In the years since then, Evie has appreciated the peaceful atmosphere from her three turbines, which she named after her children, Deb, Barb and Craig.
And, Evie has been able to reap additional benefits like annual easement payments, providing her with some financial security after the passing of her husband.
“Wally mentioned this in the beginning that [hosting turbines] will be very nice as kind of like an annuity,” Evie said. “As a farmer, you don’t have a 401(k). I’m eternally grateful to him for getting us involved with the wind project.”
Even CBS News caught wind of the story and highlighted the positive financial impact wind turbines have provided for Evie.
Above all, what Evie believes is most important about having Deb, Barb and Craig on her farm – that is, the wind turbines with those names – is their contribution to a future of clean energy for Iowa.
"Whenever people come to visit, I send them out to look up at [the turbines] and be amazed."- Evie
Learn more about the economic boost our wind energy provides to our rural communities.