Alliant Energy

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Alliant Energy Corporation

Type	Public (NYSE: LNT)
Headquarters	4902 North Biltmore Ln. Madison, WI 53718
Area served	IA, MN, WI
Key people	William D. Harvey, CEO
Industry	Electric Producer and Utility; Natural Gas Utility
Products	Electricity, Natural Gas
Revenue	$3.44 billion (2007)
Net income	▲ $425.3 million (2007)
Employees	5,179 (2007)
Subsidiaries	Interstate Power & Light (IA) Wisconsin Power & Light (WI) Industrial Energy Applications RMT Inc. WindConnect Alliant Energy Transportation
Website	AlliantEnergy.com

Alliant Energy produces electricity and sells electricity and natural gas to customers in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin - as well as providing transportation and environmental engineering and consulting.

Lawsuit from Sierra Club

In March of 2008 Alliant Energy based in Madison, Wisconsin received a notice of intent to sue from the Sierra Club. The notice claimed that the company did not file applications for air permit renewal on a timely basis and in doing so violated the Clean Air Act. In 2009, as a result of pressure from the Sierra Club and others, the federal government revoked its permit to the Columbia Energy Center. The result could mean that Alliant will be forced to install pollution reduction equipment or it could mean shutting down the facility for good.

CEO compensation

In May 2007, Forbes listed William D. Harvey as receiving $3.66 million in total compensation for the latest fiscal year. He ranked 26th on the list of CEOs in the Utilities industry, and 350th among all CEOs in the United States.

Power portfolio

Out of its total 7,252 MW of electric generating capacity (0.67% of the U.S. total), Alliant Energy gets 55.9% from coal, 28.3% from natural gas, 8.2% from nuclear, 6.7% from oil, and 0.5% from hydroelectric. Alliant owns power plants in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Coal lobbying

Alliant is a member of American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), an umbrella lobbying group for all coal ash interests that includes major coal burners Duke Energy, Southern Company and American Electric Power as well as dozens of other companies. The group argues that the so-called "beneficial-use industry" would be eliminated if a "hazardous" designation was given for coal ash waste.

ACAA set up a front group called Citizens for Recycling First, which argues that using toxic coal ash as fill in other products is safe, despite evidence to the contrary.

Existing coal-fired power plants

Alliant Energy had 30 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 4,055 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Alliant's coal power plants with capacity over 100 MW:

Plant Name	State	County	Year(s) Built	Capacity	2007 CO2 Emissions	2006 SO2 Emissions
Columbia	WI	Columbia	1975, 1978	1023 MW	8,565,000 tons	22,396 tons
Dubuque	WI	Columbia	1929, 1952, 1959	81.2 MW	407,386 tons	1,209 tons
Edgewater	WI	Sheboygan	1951, 1969, 1985	770 MW	5,394,000 tons	15,759 tons
Ottumwa	IA	Wapello	1981	726 MW	4,984,000 tons	14,172 tons
Lansing	IA	Allamakee	1948, 1949, 1957, 1977	339 MW	1,708,000 tons	5,214 tons
Prairie Creek	IA	Linn	1951, 9158, 1967, 1997	245 MW	1,714,000 tons	4,735 tons
Kapp	IA	Clinton	1967	218 MW	1,457,000 tons	5,989 tons
Burlington	IA	Des Moines	1968	212 MW	1,432,000 tons	6,309 tons
Nelson Dewey	WI	Grant	1959, 1962	200 MW	1,625,000 tons	3,836 tons
Sixth Street	WI	Grant	1921, 1925, 1930, 1942, 1945, 1950	200 MW	581,540 tons	1,516 tons
Sutherland	IA	Marshall	1955, 1961	84.7 MW	1,178,000 tons	7,453 tons

In 2005, these 9 coal-fired power plants emitted 28.1 million tons of CO₂ (0.5% of all U.S. CO₂ emissions) and 86,000 tons of SO₂ (0.6% of all U.S. SO₂ emissions).

Coal plant closures

Alliant cancels proposed Iowa plant

On March 5, 2009 Alliant subsidiary Interstate Power and Light Company announced that it was cancelling the proposed Sutherland Generating Station Unit 4. The company said the decision was based on a combination of factors, including the financial climate and concerns about the possibility of future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.

2010: Alliant to close coal boilers at six sites

According to plans filed with the Minnesota Public Service Commission on November 1, 2010, Alliant Energy plans to close coal-fired boilers at six sites in Iowa:

• Sixth Street Generating Station (all units) (Cedar Rapids)
• Prairie Creek Generating Station Unit 2 (Cedar Rapids)
• Dubuque Generating Station Unit 2
• Lansing Power Station Units 2 and 3
• Milton Kapp Generating Station Unit 1 (Clinton)
• Sutherland Generating Station Unit 2 (Marshalltown)

The plan also designates two boilers at Dubuque Generating Station and another at the Sutherland Generating Station for retirement in 2015. Of this list, only one boiler (Lansing 3) is currently operational, and the replacement generation will come in significant part from running newer coal boilers at higher capacity.

Proposed gas plant

As of April 2011, Alliant Energy is debating a natural gas plant for Iowa. Natural gas emerged as a possibility after the utility revised its future power-production projection downward, going from needing an additional 300 megawatts by roughly 2013 to 200 megawatts by 2025. Less demand has made the company consider natural gas, although the company has said it would not rule out a new coal plant later.

Articles and Resources

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