Today, Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. (IEA) announced it had been awarded a wind construction contract for the 185 MW Glacier Sands wind farm in Mason County, Illinois. White Construction, a company’s subsidiary, will self-perform all of the project’s EPC needs.
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IEA, Inc.: White Construction and the Glacier Sands project
Early today, IEA, Inc. announced it would run the construction of the 185MW Glacier Sands wind farm located in Mason County, Illinois. IEA is a utility-scale renewable energy and heavy civil infrastructure company. The award was provided by Cordelio Power, a North American based renewable power producer.
The company already started limited construction work on the project, expecting to receive permission to proceed in Q1 2021. Glacier Sands’ Construction is scheduled to be completed by October next year.
White Construction will self-perform all of the project’s engineering, procurement, and Construction (EPC) needs. These needs include the Construction of roads, upgrades to public roads; installation of collection systems and foundations; and the erection of 43 wind turbines.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Illinois ranks sixth in the U.S. for installed wind capacity, with over 5,800 MW of wind online. Currently, wind accounts for 7.6% of all energy produced in the state, enough to power 1.3 million homes.
Illinois also ranks third in wind industry employment nationally, with over 8,000 wind jobs created in 2019. Regarding lowering carbon emissions, wind energy installations in Illinois helped the state avoid 7.2 metric tons while also saving 3.9 billion gallons of water.
Reception:
“IEA is pleased to partner with Cordelio Power on this important wind construction project,” said JP Roehm, IEA’s President, and Chief Executive Officer.
“We’re committed to improving the environment through the installation of renewable energy sources. Through our work on the Glacier Sands Wind Farm, we look forward to continuing to reduce Illinois’ carbon footprint by bringing affordable, clean energy to the state.”
Paul Rapp, Cordelio’s Vice President of Project Development, said in a public statement: “We look forward to working with IEA to complete Construction of the Glacier Sands project. This project represents the leading edge of our growth efforts in Illinois and the midwestern U.S.”
To date, the company has constructed more than 20 gigawatts of renewable energy projects across North America. Furthermore, IEA was recently ranked second for wind construction amongst Engineering News-Record’s 2020 Top 400 Contractors.
