Cedar Rapids to become anchor tenant in Alliant Energy’s community solar garden

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids will become an anchor tenant of Alliant Energy’s Community Solar Garden after the City Council approved purchasing 900 solar blocks Tuesday.

Alliant’s solar garden, north of the 1100 block of 33rd Avenue SW, is an effort toward a healthier environment and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. It is made up of 18,000 solar blocks. At maximum output, the 4.5-megawatt project powers about 3,600 homes.

The city of Cedar Rapids’ purchase of 900 solar blocks costs $291 per block for a total subscription cost of $261,900 over 20 years. In return, the city will get a credit on its power bill exceeding the amount of its investment, and will encourage the growth of solar energy. Energy generated by the solar garden will be delivered to the power grid.

“We're excited about the partnership with the city and just how important they are to us and our customers, and their interest in seeing the value of solar energy in a project like this,” Alliant spokesperson Chris Caporale said.

Construction on the solar garden remains underway, but the project is slated to be operational in early 2024. Caporale said “we are close to sold out” but Alliant was not ready to confirm exactly how much of the solar garden is reserved yet.

City Sustainability Program Manager Sara Maples said by becoming an anchor tenant, the city gets a minimum credit of $0.0559 per kilowatt-hour, estimated to be an annual bill credit of $29,200 in the first year. Over 20 years, that bill credit is estimated to total $562,500. Maples said the subscription cost would be paid by Utilities Department between the Water and Water Pollution Control divisions.

Annual energy credits retired on the city’s behalf will help offset carbon emissions and show the city’s commitment to environmental sustainability by enabling clean, local energy, Maples said. The city also will be recognized as an anchor tenant on signage and marketing materials.

Upon the utility’s initial announcement in July 2022, 60 percent of the garden’s blocks — the maximum amount a single subscriber can claim — was committed to Transamerica and AEGON Asset Management, a diversified insurance and investment group, making it another anchor tenant.

Caporale said Cedar Rapids’ share represents 5 percent of the whole garden. First Interstate Bank is the third anchor tenant.

Nonprofit organizations, small business owners and residents also purchased subscriptions, including the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Alliant previously said in a news release.

There’s an upfront block cost where customers can purchase up to 100 percent of their annual usage in kilowatt-hours. Once the project is operational, customers are billed every month based on the production of the facility and will receive credits based on that yield for the life of the project.

Customers subscribing to the Cedar Rapids project are expected to make their initial investment back after about 10 years, Caporale said.

Maples said purchasing these solar blocks supports multiple city plans.

The city’s comprehensive plan, EnvisionCR, calls for the city to be a good steward of the environment and promote economic and social growth. And the Community Climate Action Plan calls for Cedar Rapids to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Council member Tyler Olson said this is a great idea that fits in with the city’s goals. He said he hopes to see more opportunities for the city to participate in solar projects and increase its use of the energy source.

“It just encourages Alliant to continue to build these kinds of projects, whether they’re around here or within their service territory, to have entities like the city get behind them and purchase large chunks,” Olson said.

Council member Scott Olson said Alliant’s project has been successful and that it’s important to join in on this endeavor as it becomes more challenging for companies to take on massive solar projects.

“It’s important that we make every effort to improve the sustainability of our community,” he said.

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