Alliant Energy to close Iowa coal-fired plant by end of 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy announced Thursday it will close its coal-fired power plant in the northeast Iowa city of Lansing over the next two years.

The plan is part of the company’s broader goal to eliminate all coal from it’s portfolio by 2040 in a shift to solar, wind and other renewable energy, the Des Moines Register reported.

Alliant has operated the 275-megawatt coal-fired plant in Lansing for 72 years and employs 26 people there, the company said.

Retiring the plant allows the company to avoid significant investments that would otherwise be required to comply with changing environmental regulations, Alliant said. A utility spokesman said the company faced capital investments and other costs of $150 million.

Alliant said it also will transition its Burlington plant to cleaner-burning natural gas next year, cutting about a dozen jobs at the plant in the process.

“Once complete, the facility will use less water and have significantly reduced carbon emissions,” the company said in a news release.

Alliant said it plans to add up to 400 megawatts of solar energy-generation in Iowa over the next three years.

In addition to Lansing and Burlington, Alliant has coal-fired plants at Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Muscatine, Sergeant Bluff and Salix.

Alliant, which has its headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, serves about 490,000 electric customers in Iowa.