Alliant Energy is bringing a significant clean energy infrastructure project to Lansing, Iowa, that promises to deliver economic benefits to the region while advancing renewable energy capabilities. The utility company, which provides energy services for more than 1 million electric customers across Iowa and Wisconsin, including 500,000 electric customers and 230,000 natural gas customers across 80 Iowa counties, plans to construct a 280-megawatt (MW) battery storage facility at the site of its recently decommissioned Lansing Generating Station.
After filing its generating certificate with the Iowa Utilities Commission in February, operations are expected to commence by late 2026. This system will have enough capacity to power approximately 47,500 residences daily, a substantial upgrade to Iowa’s energy infrastructure, according to the Iowa Environmental Council.
As Alliant explained in a presentation related to this project, “We are constantly looking for new ways to serve customers and build stronger communities.” On their website, the company elaborates, “Energy storage infrastructure is a newer part of our strategy and a key to accelerating our transition to renewable energy. With major transformations underway, battery storage helps us meet demand, reduces the need for traditional power grid updates and ensures we are prepared in the event of outages and severe weather.”
The Lansing facility represents Alliant’s fifth battery storage installation in Iowa, but will dwarf the company’s existing projects. The company installed a smaller 672-kilowatt (kW) system in Wellman in 2019, which provided stable electricity and lower prices to nearby residences, many of which had already installed their own solar systems, thereby halving the costs that would have been incurred from installing new lines and poles in the rural area. In 2020, the company installed a 250-kW system in Marshalltown, marking Alliant’s first connection to a utility-sized solar field featuring 9,500 solar panels.
In 2021, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Sandia National Labs, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the company’s 2.6 MW system in Decorah became operational. It serves as an “electron bank” that manages capacity in a circuit with numerous customer-owned solar systems, thereby avoiding the need for a grid rebuild to accommodate this extra electricity while providing clean energy at low costs during times of peak energy usage.
In 2022, the company added a 5 MW system in Cedar Rapids, doubling its battery storage capacity in the state from 3.5 MW to 8.5 MW. Mayuri Farlinger, vice president of customer and community engagement, stated, “While Alliant Energy has operated battery storage systems for several years, battery technology has advanced by leaps and bounds enabling new projects to deliver greater efficiency, performance and affordability. We see enormous potential for energy storage systems as we continue our transition to safe, reliable and cost-effective renewable energy for our customers.”
Photo Courtesy Alliant Energy
The Lansing facility, meanwhile, takes a different approach. It will store excess electricity generated by wind and solar arrays during low-demand periods in lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, then release it to the grid when needed. This approach provides both economic and environmental benefits to the region. At Alliant’s public information meeting on March 19, the company noted that it designed the project to “deliver greater efficiency at a more cost-effective value.” At the meeting, Amanda Kesler, senior renewables development specialist, described the facility “as being similar in appearance to 20-foot shipping containers with each container to include a redundant liquid-cooled heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in addition to smoke, heat and gas detection,” according to The Standard Newspaper, Waukon.
Iowa legislators have voiced support for battery applications in the state and nationwide. After touring Stryten Energy’s battery manufacturing plant in Manchester in 2023, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) said, “I saw the varying types of batteries produced here, as well as the quantity. Whether it’s farm vehicles, moving goods on the road or commercial vehicles, hands in this plant touch all of that… We will still need this type of plant making these types of batteries.”
This project is expected to provide economic stimulus to Allamakee County, which has experienced negative economic impacts following the closure of the coal-fired Lansing Generating Station after almost 75 years of operation. “The closure of the last power plant had an impact on the local economy and will impact the tax base eventually. The investment in the county will help the county’s tax base and that’s important,” reflected Jim Martin-Schramm, a policy analyst with the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa.
The Lansing Generating Station’s retirement aligns with Alliant’s Clean Energy Blueprint, which envisions it eliminating coal from its generation fleet by 2040 and achieving net-zero utility operations by 2050. As strategic project manager Justin Foss explained, “We’re moving away from having these large centralized power plants to having more smaller, decentralized power plants. You’ve got a stronger, more resilient power system — a better system overall.”
Photo Courtesy Alliant Energy
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