Virginia’s AES plans Indiana wind farm

INDIANAPOLIS -- The parent company of Indianapolis Power & Light Co. is planning a wind farm with 200 or more towers that could become Indiana's largest generator of the alternative energy.

AES Corp. plans to build the wind turbines in a 75,000-acre area along the Clinton-Tipton county line north of Indianapolis, The Indianapolis Star reported yesterday. The project would cost up to $1 billion and mark central Indiana's entry into the growing market.

Paul Burdick, a vice president of Arlington County-based AES, said the company hopes the wind farm will produce 400 megawatts of electricity, or roughly the output of a midsize coal-burning power plant and enough to power about 400,000 homes.

Turbines could start going up next year, Burdick said.

Clinton County farmer David Ristow said several European companies also approached him about leasing land for a wind farm, but AES offered the best deal.

Landowners also liked the fact AES is a U.S. company, has ample resources to complete the project, owns the power utility serving Indianapolis, and wants to take on the entire wind-farm project by itself, Ristow said.