Two companies with ties to Iowa are ramping up their wind energy capacities.

A subsidiary of Paris-based EDF Energies Nouvelles SA, enXco Inc., has signed a five-year operations and maintenance contract with MidAmerican Energy Co., which covers four wind farms with 508.5 megawatts of total capacity provided by 339 wind turbines. It also will extend the generating capacity of the Pomeroy Wind Farm in Iowa by 75 megawatts after it completes the initial 123 megawatts under construction since June. This will add 50 wind turbines, each with a 1.5-megawatt capacity.

FPL Energy LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group Inc., also announced a goal to add between 8,000 and 10,000 megawatts of new wind power to its portfolio by the end of 2012. In 2007 and 2008, the company will add 2,000 megawatts of new wind generation and will strive to add 1,500 to 2,000 megawatts per year until 2012.

FPL Energy already has more than 14,000 megawatts of wind power in various stages of development and more than 1 million acres of land under its control. It is the largest U.S. generator of wind power, with 49 wind farms in 15 states, including Iowa. Its Iowa wind farm operations include a 41.3-megawatt farm in Clear Lake and a 97.68-megawatt farm in Hancock County.