Alliant Energy’s Iowa energy company has received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to add 1 GW of new wind power in Iowa.
Alliant Energy’s Iowa utility subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Co., uses the trade name Alliant Energy. Through the new expansion, combined with existing wind farms and market purchases, the company expects wind to be approximately one-third of its total capacity in Iowa by the end of 2020.
The company plans to invest a total of $1.8 billion in wind by the end of 2020. The new wind farms will create hundreds of construction and other jobs while generating tens of millions of dollars in additional property taxes to communities and payments to landowners, Alliant Energy notes.
“Our wind energy initiatives help keep rates competitive, enhance our environmental stewardship and drive economic growth in our communities,” says Doug Kopp, president of Alliant Energy’s Iowa energy company. “Wind energy is a major part of our transition to a clean energy future.”
This spring, crews began construction on the first of several wind farms, starting with Upland Prairie Wind Farm, located in Clay and Dickinson counties in northwest Iowa. Later this year, construction is expected to start at English Farms Wind Farm, located in Poweshiek County in central Iowa.
