Large solar farm set for Coggon

A 750-acre solar farm will be built some two miles outside Coggon, with plans to generate about 100 megawatts when it begins operation in 2022.

Boise, Idaho-based Clenera will construct the farm and sell the power to the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, or CIPCO, through a 25-year power-purchase agreement, Kerry Koonce, CIPCO manager of external affairs, said on Friday.

Energy output will be the same as the 800-acre Wapello Solar Facility in Louisa County, also constructed by Clenera and operated by Cedar Rapids-headquartered CIPCO.

The project will “contribute several million dollars in property tax revenue to Linn County over the life of the generating facility,” Clenera said in a statement posted on CIPCO’s website.

The company also said the build will employ some 350 construction workers “at its peak.”

“We’re pleased with the economics behind the Coggon Solar agreement,” Bill Cherrier, CIPCO CEO and executive vice president, said in a statement. “This will serve our mission of providing cost-effective and safe energy.

“The fact that the energy is produced in Iowa and promotes environmental stewardship is a win-win.”