The public needs answers about Alliant’s power plant plan

Alliant Energy wants to build a natural gas-fired power plant on the south side of Fairfax to serve large new data centers that require substantial power to operate.

It would include stacks 190 to 250 feet tall.

And that’s a big problem, according to the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission. From their perspective, the plant site, which is just a few miles from The Eastern Iowa Airport, would be a safety hazard.

The proposed plant, with the tall stack, would be four miles from the airport’s main runway, less than three miles from a secondary runway, and less than one mile from a planned third runway, according to reporting by The Gazette’s Olivia Cohen.

The Airport Commission was briefed on Alliant’s plan just more than a month ago.

“Given the information we have received to date, our determination of an airport hazard, the existence of alternative project sites, and Alliant’s expressed urgency to move the project forward, we request the proposed site near The Eastern Iowa Airport be removed from further consideration,” Eastern Iowa Airport director Marty Lenss wrote in a July 14 letter to Alliant obtained by The Gazette.

“If the script were flipped and the power plant was sited first, we would not be siting the airport at its present location,” Lenss said.

As important as access to power is to data centers, the airport’s safety needs should be considered above all other issues. Meeting federal regulations and providing passenger safety are the most critical factors at play.

The airport commission deserves credit for bringing this situation to the attention of the public. Residents of Fairfax deserve to know that a power plant may become their very large neighbor on the south side of town, blocks from homes and athletic fields.

Airport commission members voted to commission a study on the plant’s potential effects. Alliant should reimburse the airport for the cost of the study, regardless of its conclusions.

Alliant, which had hoped to present its plan to the Iowa Utilities Commission within 60 days, will need to apply the brakes and find alternative sites that are far more acceptable to all parties involved. It won’t be easy, but it is a problem that can be solved.

Commissioners, wisely, also want a public meeting with Alliant so questions about the project can be asked in public. The special session is on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 7:30 a.m. in the boardroom of the Airport Administrative Offices, 2515 Arthur Collins Pkwy SW.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com