Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin and Iowa utility companies have provided safe, reliable service for more than a century. They became Alliant Energy 25 years ago when they merged.
A lot has changed and improved since then, including how we generate energy. Here’s a quick look at our progress over the past 25 years:
- In 2008, we placed 568 megawatts (MW) of wind energy into service. The largest of this initial group was the Whispering Willow East Wind Farm in Franklin County, Iowa. This 200-MW project consisted of 81 turbines to power approximately 73,000 homes.
- We then set our sights on pilot projects to determine the viability of solar power and energy storage. Facilities in Dubuque and Decorah in Iowa and Portage and Madison in Wisconsin tested both solar and battery technology to see how they might work on a larger scale.
- In 2018, we added another 1,150 MW of wind projects across Iowa and Minnesota. We quickly became the third-largest owner and operator of regulated wind energy in the United States, a title we still proudly hold. These projects continue to produce more energy every year. Last year, our wind sites generated 25% more energy than they did in 2021, helping make more than 50% of the energy we provided our Iowa customers last year renewable.
- Since 2021, we’ve constructed utility-scale solar projects across Wisconsin and Iowa. We expect to have placed nearly 1,500 MW of solar into service by the end of 2024.
- The next phase to optimize renewables is to capture the excess energy they produce to release it when customers need it most. We’ve proposed energy storage systems totaling 274 MW in Wisconsin.
Back in 2005, renewable sources made up just 5% of our capacity of owned generation and power purchase agreements (contracts that give a company the right to purchase energy from a generation facility at a negotiated rate). Last year, that number was 37%, and it will only continue to increase.
We’re proud of the progress we’ve made toward our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from our utility operations by 2050. We do our best to set an example for our customers and peers in the Midwest as we transition to a more sustainable energy future, safely and reliably.
Learn more about our renewable plans through our Clean Energy Blueprint.