At the beginning of May, Alliant Energy brought its Pleasant Creek Solar Project online in Linn County, Iowa. At 200 megawatts (MW) and spanning about 1,100 acres, the company announced that it is the biggest solar site in the state and will generate enough power for at least 40,000 residences per year. A NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary developed the project in two phases. The first 50 MW went into operation in March 2024, and the rest of the solar panels were added to the site in December.
The project is located near the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo. NextEra Energy shut down the state’s only nuclear plant in 2020 after Alliant Energy agreed to pay $110 million to shorten its power purchase agreement by 5 years. Alliant said that it would save Iowans $300 million across 21 years by replacing the nuclear energy with renewables like wind.
Now, the Pleasant Creek project will connect to the electric grid using the same substation that the Duane Arnold plant once used, which is why it was originally called Duane Arnold Solar during the development and construction phases. “The new name – Pleasant Creek Solar – pays homage to Pleasant Creek Lake, a man-made lake near the project site created when the Duane Arnold Energy Center was built. The lake served as an emergency water source for the generating plant,” explained Mayuri Farlinger, president of Interstate Power and Light Company and vice president of energy delivery for Alliant.
Photo Courtesy Alliant Energy…