Linn to start review of Duane Arnold solar projects near Palo

Linn County will begin its review of the Duane Arnold solar projects near Palo in two weeks.

The county’s Technical Review Committee meets at 9 a.m. May 19 on the lower level of the Linn County Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW, Cedar Rapids.

The meeting, though open to the public, is for county staff to review the Duane Arnold I and II projects with the applicant, NextEra, and ask questions. No public comments or votes will be taken.

NextEra submitted its application for the projects in February.

Utility-scale solar projects first go through the county’s Technical Review Committee and then to the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The seven commission members then recommend approval or denial of the project to the Board of Supervisors, who have the final say in the project.

“The review process is designed to review all applications thoroughly against the development standards outlined in Linn County’s utility-scale solar ordinance,” according to Thursday news release from the county. “Additional standards may be imposed as part of the review process.”

The Duane Arnold Solar I project proposes to use 316 acres of an 857-acre area to place photovoltaic solar arrays capable of generating up to 50 megawatts of energy.

The Duane Arnold Solar II would use 815 acres of a 1,780-acre area to place solar arrays capable of generating up to 150 MW and a 75-MW, four-hour battery energy storage facility.

If approved by the county, the project would begin operating by the end of 2024.

Florida-based NextEra, which has operated in Iowa since 1999, said in June it plans to invest $800 million in the solar project, including $50 million paid to landowners over the project’s 30-year life span.

The company has 11 wind projects in the state. The Palo site would be its first solar project in Iowa, though it has solar projects in 27 other states.

NextEra took over the Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear power plant in 2006 and is now in the process of closing it. It recently announced its workers had finished transferring spent fuel from the nuclear facility into an on-site fuel storage facility.

In November, Alliant filed a proposal with the Iowa Utilities Board to buy the large-scale solar project from NextEra and further develop it into the state’s largest solar and battery storage facility.

If the projects are approved, NextEra would develop and build the project. Once operational, Alliant would own and operate the project.

The Iowa Utilities Board is expected to decide on Alliant’s proposal later this year.

In January, the supervisors OK’d the smaller Coggon Solar project on a 2-1 vote.

Many of those who attended the public meetings on the Coggon project objected to using farmland for the project. Others thought the setback limits were too small and also were concerned about cleanup should another natural disaster, like the August 2020 derecho, occur.

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