Following news last week that Alliant Energy is “deprioritizing” construction of a new natural gas fired power plant in Fairfax, the company said it is evaluating its options for siting a new power plant.
116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Following news last week that Alliant Energy is “deprioritizing” construction of a new natural gas fired power plant in Fairfax, the company said it is evaluating its options for siting a new power plant.
Alliant Energy, which has been exploring building a new power plant in Fairfax — a proposal that was met with resistance from some residents and officials at The Eastern Iowa Airport — said in a statement to the city that it is “deprioritizing” the Fairfax location.
Expert says waste from a restarted Duane Arnold Energy Center could introduce hundreds of new chemicals into the environment, impacting human health.
In his role with the Sierra Club’s Iowa City Chapter, Tom Carsner has spent a lot of time in recent months thinking and talking about the ways the federal government incentivizes energy efficiency.
Iowa’s only nuclear plant could return — and with it, hundreds of high-wage jobs, a multi-year construction surge and new housing demand. Palo and Center Point businesses, union leaders and city officials say the economic ripple would be significant.
Iowans who see low-flying helicopters near transmission lines in the next few weeks should fear not — the flights are part of regular maintenance by ITC Midwest.
The Fairfax City Council, in a heated meeting Tuesday, approved the first reading of a proposed exception to the city’s industrial zoning code which could provide a path for Alliant Energy to build a new power plant within city limits.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved NextEra Energy’s request for a waiver allowing the company to move forward with plans to recommission the shuttered Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Palo.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it would restrict the use of federal subsidies for solar energy projects in favor of protecting farmland, but clean energy advocates say solar gives farmers a higher production value per acre than any traditional crop.
NextEra representatives, during a meeting with nuclear regulators Thursday, said the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo, which closed in 2020, needs “a few major pieces of equipment” before it can restart, including cooling towers, the restoration of transmission lines, new offices, warehouse buildings and a new sewage treatment system.
Alliant Energy has said there are other potential locations being considered for a new power plant, but the company’s representatives declined to share those locations with the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission because disclosing the other sites could put the company in a “negative position from a cost perspective.”
The nation’s dwindling fleet of nuclear plants — including the shuttered Duane Arnold plant in Palo — is being seized upon as one of the most viable ways to quickly feed tech firms’ growing thirst for electricity to power the giant data centers needed for AI projects.
The commission unanimously approved the draft code at its Monday meeting. Now, it heads to the Board of Supervisors.
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