Madison Gas plans to build mega wind farm

Madison Gas and Electric is looking to build and operate its largest wind farm to date.

Officials at the Madison-based utility announced plans on Wednesday for “Saratoga,” a $107 million, 66-megawatt wind farm that would be built 200 miles west of Madison in Howard County, Iowa. The wind farm would consist of 33 turbines standing on a 10-square-mile site.

If approved by regulators, construction could begin in early 2018 and the wind farm could begin operating by the end of the year, according to a news release. The turbines would produce enough electricity to power about 47,000 homes.

Madison Gas and Electric bought the Saratoga site last year. On Wednesday, the company submitted a letter to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin stating its intent to seek approval for building the new wind farm.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our customers and continues the progress we’ve made in reducing carbon emissions and increasing renewable energy,” Gary Wolter, the utility company’s chairman, president and chief executive said in the news release. “With recent advances in technology, this project represents a long-term, cost-effective strategy for MGE to continue to transition to cleaner energy sources.”

The turbines proposed for the Saratoga wind farm would stand 500-feet tall; 100-feet higher than the those at the utility’s Top of Iowa wind farm, which was built in 2008.