Alliant Energy begins service of battery storage facility in Decorah

Project received support from state, federal agencies

Jul. 21, 2021 5:32 pm

Alex Brink with Eilertson Inc. bolts modules containing lithium ion rechargeable battery cells to racks inside a container at an Alliant Energy energy storage system near Vennehjem Park in Decorah in February. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Alliant Energy put into service a 2.5-megawatt battery storage facility in Decorah this month.

The project is expected to improve the efficiency of nearby solar power.

“Our batteries store solar power created when the sun is the brightest and then release that energy later in the day,” said Terry Kouba, president of Alliant Energy’s Iowa utility, in a news release.

“This is an innovative way to both manage the grid and deliver more renewable energy to customers.”

Imre Gyuk, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity’s director of energy storage research, said the Decorah facility “will soon become a model throughout the country.”

Iowa Economic Development Authority aided the project with a $200,000 grant. The U.S. Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories also provided financial and technical support.

Debi Durham, director of IEDA, said the Decorah battery project will “serve as a catalyst for other innovative projects in Iowa.”

“Battery storage technology strengthens our state’s diverse energy resource mix and makes full use of our renewables even when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing,” Durham said.

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