The crowd that packed into a meeting room at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center Monday night, March 23 for an informational meeting on a proposed Alliant Energy gas-fired power plant northwest of Fairfax ended up with more questions than answers about the project.
That’s largely because Alliant officials say details about the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center are still being worked out, with the power plant not expected to come online until sometime in 2030.
The project is proposed for a 160-acre site at the southeast intersection of Highway 30 and Linn-Benton Road, just inside Linn County and about 2 ½ miles northwest of Fairfax.
A handful of the 40-plus comments at Monday night’s meeting, hosted by the Iowa Utilities Commission, expressed support for the proposal, including Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance vice president of development Ron Corbett, Cedar Rapids Economic Services Manager Bill Micheel, Iowa Utility Association executive director Chaz Allen and representatives of local trade unions. Those speakers said additional power supply would benefit economic development initiatives and provide a number of high-paying construction and maintenance jobs.
But a significant majority of comments were opposed to the plan, which proposes a 720-megawatt power plant with three simple-cycle gas-fired combustion turbine engines, 150-foot-tall exhaust stacks and external fin fan cooling radiators.
“This is a hostile situation for you guys, and it should be,” said Mark, who said he represented a number of landowners in the area.
Commenters – many of whom came to the microphone more than once, but generally shared only their first names publicly – said they were disappointed that answers to many of their questions weren’t available. Several primary concerns were raised, including:
- The project’s location, including its proximity to nearby homes and heritage farms and the high-CSR value of the land itself. “Why there, and not close to the data centers?” asked Rob, who lives in Benton County near the proposed project site. Alliant representatives at the meeting indicated the plant was not being built solely to serve the two data centers now under construction in southwest Cedar Rapids, but to meet growing electrical demand across the company’s service area.
- The health impacts of emissions from the plant. ”What are the exact environmental impact studies that you have to do, and when are there opportunities to make comments about those environmental impacts?” asked Mark. “Let’s also talk about light pollution, noise pollution, all those kinds of things.” “I’m not concerned at all about my property value or the view that I’m going to have,” added a Fairfax resident who didn’t provide her name. “I’m concerned about the health impacts to myself and my children.”
- Traffic concerns at the intersection of Highway 30and Linn-Benton Road. “Highway 30 right there is not a safe place,” said Martha. “You’re coming up over a hill in both directions … It’s a dangerous corner. It always has been.” Another speaker, Heather, said her 15-year-old daughter drives daily from Fairfax to Blairstown for work. “Are we creating a safety issue that doesn’t exist today just by putting it there to visibility issues?” she asked.
- The process, including a perceived lack of transparency. “I didn’t know anything at all about this until two days ago, and I had a flyer under my welcome mat,” said Kelly, who lives in Atkins, just across the county line in Benton County. “I don’t really love that. It kind of seems like you’re sneaking in there.” Another commenter, Martha, said that she felt neighboring Benton County should be more involved in the decision-making process. “Just because that county line is there, the sound, the light, the air pollution do not stop at that county line,” she said. “So why isn’t this other county involved in it as well? And why don’t you have to answer to them?”
- The persistent perception that the project is being driven primarily by demand from the Cedar Rapids data centers, and thus should be built in that area. “Would you guys be building this power plant if it wasn’t for the multiple data centers that are being put up?” asked Chad. In response, Mayuri Farlinger, president of Alliant Energy’s Iowa energy company, said that “we really think about the load that we have on the system today, ensuring that you all have the energy that you need into the future, so we’re going to continue to add resources as it’s needed by our customers. So no, this power plant is not specifically for the data centers. We don’t build plants for specific customers.”
The new site plan comes after Alliant Energy announced in October it was “deprioritizing” a previous site near Fairfax as a proposed location for the plant amid community pushback and safety concerns raised by the Eastern Iowa Airport.
In addition, Linn County has approved a new ordinance governing the siting of gas-fired power plants, imposing a series of new standards a project must meet before it can be approved.
Several steps remain before the plan can receive a generating certificate from the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC), starting with a Linn County rezoning application for the site. That application had not yet been filed as of March 23, Alliant officials said.
Alliant said they hope to file a formal application with the IUC within the next few months, and a hearing would likely then be set to review testimony and public input on the project.
Comments made Monday night were not officially documented, but those interested can read more about the project, and submit their own comments or objections, in the IUC’s official docket for the project – GCU-2026.0002. Comments can also be mailed to the Iowa Utilities Commission at 1375 E Court Ave., Des Moines, IA 50319, referencing the docket number for the case.
