Alliant Energy on Track for 1,000 Megawatts of Iowa Renewable Power by End of Year

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Midwest utility holding company Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) (Madison, Wisconsin) is taking great strides to lower its carbon emissions, aiming for a 40% reduction from 2005 base levels by 2030. In addition to retiring some coal-fired assets, the company is nearing completion on a large natural gas-fired power station and is underway with a massive buildout in wind projects across its service area. Industrial Info is tracking more than $3 billion worth of active Alliant Energy projects.

In the company's recent fourth-quarter earnings conference call with industry analysts, Chief Executive Officer John Larsen discussed some of Alliant's recently completed and active projects. He said, "We are continuing our track record of solid execution on renewable investments, putting additional clean energy to work for our customers and communities. One example of that progress is the recent completion of our 200-megawatt (MW) Whispering Willow North Wind project." Construction on the facility, located near Bradford, Iowa, began in the first half of last year, with IEA White Construction (Indianapolis, Indiana) providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services. The project was an extension of an existing windfarm and included the construction of 80 General Electric (NYSE:GE) 2.5-MW wind turbines. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Even as Alliant wraps up projects, its renewable energy footprint in Iowa continues to expand. Larsen said, "We now have nearly 70% of our planned 1,000 MW of new wind placed into service for our Iowa customers producing clean, efficient renewable energy. We are on track to complete the balance of this plan by the end of this year." Among the Iowa projects scheduled to be completed this year is the 200-MW Golden Plains Windfarm near Lake Mills, in the north of the state, near the Minnesota border. The facility will include 60 2.5-MW turbines and 21 2.3-MW turbines. Construction kicked off in the first half of last year and is expected to be completed in fourth-quarter 2020. For more information on the $400 million project, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also underway in Iowa is construction on the 210-MW Richland Windfarm, near Early, in the west of the state. Construction began last summer, and the windfarm will include 84 General Electric 2.5-MW turbines. Construction is expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter of this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

As Alliant progresses with its Iowa wind buildout, its largest project is in Wisconsin. Larsen said, "An important complement to our renewable resources will be the addition of the West Riverside Energy Center. This highly efficient natural gas facility located in southern Wisconsin is over 98% complete and expected to be in service producing low-cost energy for our Wisconsin customers in the coming weeks." Construction on the 700-MW combined-cycle plant began in 2017, with AECOM (Los Angeles, California) providing EPC services. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Alliant also is planning a small solar facility at the West Riverside Energy Center of between 4 MW and 5 MW. The solar modules will be mounted on a fixed-tilt, single-axis tracking system. HDR Engineering Incorporated (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is providing engineering on the project, which will be completed later this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Alliant reported fourth-quarter 2019 net income of $111.5 million, compared with $85.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Full-year net income was $557.2 million, compared with $512.1 million in 2018.

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