Iowa regulator clears 1-GW wind plan by Alliant Energy

The Iowa Utilities Board has given the green light to a plan by utility Alliant Energy Corp (NYSE:LNT) to add 1,000 MW of new wind power capacity in the state by 2020.

The wind expansion programme of the local subsidiary of Alliant, Interstate Power and Light, envisages building several plants, including the 300-MW Upland Prairie Wind Farm in Clay and Dickinson counties, and the 170-MW English Farms Wind Farm in Poweshiek County. The company began construction work on the larger project earlier this summer and intends to proceed with English Farms later this year.

Alliant Energy expects to invest about USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.45bn) in renewable energy in the state of Iowa by the end of 2020, it said.

The Iowa Utilities Board sets a cost cap of USD 1,780 per kW, including allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC) and transmission costs. The regulator says that the ratemaking principles apply to any new wind park constructed as part of the programme that qualifies for 100% of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), regardless of its location in the state, up to 500 MW.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.808)

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