Sustainability and our values

As we endeavor to meet our voluntary Renewable Energy Vision environmental stewardship goals, we will need to Think beyond. Be bold by investing in innovative solutions and technologies like the Columbia Energy Storage Project. The proposed project in Pacific, Wisconsin, is a storage system that would be the first of its kind in the United States.

With an innovative design by Energy Dome, the system stores energy by compressing carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into a liquid. When we need that energy, the system converts the liquid CO2 back to a gas, which powers a turbine to create electricity. This highly efficient, zero-emissions, closed-loop battery system can power approximately 20,000 Wisconsin homes for 10 hours on a single charge. Pending approval, we expect the system to be operational by the end of 2026.

Additionally, to advance innovation in infrastructure (SDG 9) we made use of federal funding opportunities, and the United States Department of Energy awarded the project a $30.7 million grant. Through collaborative and innovative practices, the Columbia Energy Storage Project represents a significant advancement toward a more sustainable, reliable, cost-effective and renewable energy (SDG 7) future.

We are aware of the natural resources required to power our facilities and the necessity for these resources to still be clean and usable for the communities we serve. To cool and produce steam for our Riverside and West Riverside generating facilities during operation, we use nearby groundwater and treat it prior to discharging into the Rock River. The groundwater used contains phosphorus, and the Rock River is sensitive to the amount of phosphorus discharge it can absorb each year.

To meet existing permitted phosphorus discharge limits for the facilities, we developed a Nutrient Trading Plan as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to construction of additional wastewater treatment technology. The plan takes credit for developing adjacent land previously leased for traditional row-crop agriculture with a solar array, a substation and perennial natural vegetation – all land uses that will produce less phosphorus runoff to the river than traditional agriculture.

Additionally, the West Riverside facility uses ultra-filtration in its water treatment to remove phosphorus prior to discharge to the Rock River. These efforts help us Act for tomorrow by ensuring we remain in compliance, protect life under water (SDG 14) and have clean water (SDG 6) in the communities we serve.

Access to electricity (SDG 7) is integral to feeling comfortable and safe. That’s why we offer and advocate for programs that help our customers pay their energy bills. One of these programs is our Hometown Care Energy Fund, which provides free, confidential financial help for eligible Alliant Energy Customers. These funds ensure access to basic services (SDG 1). Eligible customers receive up to $500 toward heating and cooling costs. Local community action programs distribute funds directly to customers in need.

Eligibility for our Hometown Care Energy Fund aligns with eligibility for a federal program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP benefits our customers in need. The program distributed over $22 million to communities across Iowa and Wisconsin in 2023. Because of this, we partner with the Edison Electric Institute, American Gas Association and the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition annually to brief federal lawmakers on the importance of LIHEAP and advocate for more funding.

We believe we Do the right thing by making our customers aware of these opportunities.

Our commitment to safety extends beyond our employees into the communities in which we live and work. We design our natural gas pipelines to be safe and we train our qualified workforce to prevent occupational injuries (SDG 8). To aid these initiatives, we work closely with emergency responders, local governments, elected officials and industry groups in communities on a number of gas pipeline safety initiatives.

We target our community training and education materials to contractors and related businesses as well as the public. We cover topics to prevent injuries (SDG 3) including safe digging practices and actions to recognize and respond to natural gas leaks.

Additionally, we support development of sustainable communities (SDG 11) by working with local emergency responders to help them understand the risks of natural gas and the best ways to prepare for, prevent and react to an emergency.

All these initiatives work to create safety as a living value in the communities we serve.

We invest in talent programs to develop new skillsets and prepare as energy evolves. That’s why we demonstrate our Value to Care for others by ensuring our current and future workforce are setup for success through apprenticeship and youth programs. We develop and support opportunities for high school students to earn quality education (SDG 4) in the energy industry and prepare for career opportunities.

Our Utilities Field Technician Youth Apprenticeship program, offered in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and WE Energies, is available to rising high school juniors and seniors in various Wisconsin locations. Participants support their community with hands-on experience in the energy industry. Iowa high school juniors and seniors can register for the Introduction to Energy Basics program, which provides information on apprenticeships, technical careers and the energy industry overall. It also serves as a stepping stone to a potential paid internship with Alliant Energy.

For students at various technical colleges throughout Iowa and Wisconsin, we fund and promote the Electric Power Distribution programs, which provide hands-on training for line and gas technician roles. We also offer a Pre-Apprenticeship Laborer (PAL) position in which adults who have not completed technical school complete an 18-month, hands-on training program alongside line, gas and field crew to be hired as full-time apprentices for the company. These programs allow us to recruit and retain talent and provide work and training opportunities (SDG 8) across the communities we serve.

We Make things better in our communities by offering career development opportunities to groups underrepresented in the energy industry. On Sept. 6, 2023, at the Marshalltown Training Center in Iowa, we held the inaugural Women in Technical Energy Careers event to encourage young women in high school to explore technical careers and apprenticeships in the energy industry.

As of 2022, only 2.44% of line mechanics and 20.5% of gas mechanics nationally are women. The event was the vision and creation of Keith Jones, our manager of technical training and Lori Wildman, our early apprentice development specialist, with support from the Iowa Technical Training Team. We co-launched the event with Iowa Valley Community College District and Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates. The day involved talks from the Iowa Technical Training Team and IPL leadership as well as a more personal spotlight session on some of the female employees at Alliant Energy. The students also had the opportunity to explore the skills needed for apprenticeships on the Marshalltown Training Center training field.

During the event, the team provided information on the Alliant Energy Introduction to Energy Basics online high school program and summer internships, which resulted in at least 10 attendees signing up for the programs. Due to the success, we’ll continue the event annually for young women from all Iowa high schools. Offering career development opportunities to women in the communities we serve advances gender equality (SDG 5) in our employee base and recruits local, underrepresented talent to our technical career positions.