Aug. 5--MGE Energy is taking the first steps toward creating two more wind farms, both in Iowa.

MGE, parent company of Madison Gas & Electric, has signed agreements to buy land development rights for wind generation sites near Wellsburg and Hawkeye, in northeast Iowa. Terms of the deals were not immediately disclosed and no proposals have been sent to state regulators, but the projects, if built, could total $300 million to $400 million, said Don Peterson, MGE executive director of energy products and services.

The Wellsburg site could house up to 84 wind turbines and the Hawkeye acreage could hold about 20, Peterson said. Total maximum output: 175 megawatts, enough to power more than 85,000 homes when the wind is at peak levels.

RPM Access, of West Des Moines, Iowa, has been collecting wind data for the past year, said Peterson.

"It looks very promising," he said.

Right now, MGE has access to up to 137 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, including 30 megawatts from turbines the utility owns in Kewaunee County in Wisconsin and north of Mason City, Iowa.

Options MGE signed require the company to reach easement agreements with property owners by Dec. 31, 2016. Options already are in place with nearly all of the 40 farmers in the Hawkeye area and about half of the 140 property owners around Wellsburg, Peterson said, but there's no timetable yet for the projects.

"Now is a good time to secure wind farms because a lot of developers just can't pull the trigger because of an inability to get credit," he said.

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