Alliant's 720-MW Morgan Valley Gas Plant Denied Linn County Rezoning

Corridor Business Journal reports that the plant would have three simple-cycle gas turbines and tie into an existing 345-kV transmission line near the site. Construction was planned to start in 2027, with service around 2030. Alliant says the plant would run as a peaker, no more than 40% of the time, when wind and solar output is low or demand spikes. Alliant's project page calls it a fast-acting resource that can be dispatched on demand.

Alliant's Data Center Load Argument

Alliant told the board it needs capacity because large industrial customers in Iowa and Wisconsin, including data centers, are growing. Alliant resource planner Jamie Nichols said the load growth from data centers is large but not all of the need.

Supervisor Sami Scheetz pressed the point. He said Alliant's 2024 resource plan showed a few hundred megawatts of new gas, while the company now proposes more than 2 GW of new gas plants, and he attributed most of the increase to data center campuses in Cedar Rapids, Mason City and Clinton. Alliant did not name a specific data center as the customer for Morgan Valley. Voltgrid News reported earlier on Dominion's Cumberland gas plant in Virginia, another gas plant tied to local approval.

For power buyers, the case shows how a firm gas peaker built for large-load growth can stall at the county level before it reaches the state utility regulator. Alliant's own timeline, with construction in 2027 and service around 2030, now depends on the state review.

Why the Board Voted No

All three supervisors tied their votes in part to the plan's fit with the county's comprehensive plan. Board Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt questioned how much information Alliant had shared and asked it to reconsider a waiver for on-site air quality monitoring. Alliant's environmental manager said the waiver applies to a screening level and that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has preliminarily found existing monitors appropriate. Alliant argued the county should judge the case under its gas-plant ordinance, not a comprehensive plan last updated in 2013.

Scheetz said he worried that a no could shift control to the state. A speaker at the hearing said the commission has overridden a county only once, in a solar case in Cerro Gordo County. That is a claim from the floor, not a finding.

Open Questions Before the State Review

Corridor Business Journal reports Alliant will consider its next steps, and KCRG notes it could explore options, including a new application. Whether the commission will grant a certificate over the county's objection is open, as is the air permit. The Sierra Club, which opposes the plant, welcomed the vote and said it expects the commission to reach the same result. Watch the Dec. 7 start of the state review and any new county filing from Alliant.