QTS is planning to bring a temporary power plant online soon to support testing operations at the company’s Cedar Rapids data center campus, company officials have confirmed.
The plant, consisting of “modular, self-contained generator units,” will be placed on QTS-owned property near the Eastern Iowa Airport.
Airport director Marty Lenss briefly discussed the plans during the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission’s meeting Wednesday. He said the plant would be located about two miles northwest of the airport’s Runway 13.
“We’re in the process of conversations with the city and very much in the beginning process of that,” Mr. Lenss said. “A lot of moving parts, as you would imagine.”
Mr. Lenss asked the commission to comment on the proposed, temporary power plant, “to provide awareness to the commission” regarding the proposal.
Eastern Iowa Airport marketing and communications director Pam Hinman said the airport doesn’t yet have specific details about the proposal.
“Anything built near the airport requires airport review, per chapter 39 of City of Cedar Rapids Municipal Code,” Ms. Hinman wrote in an email. “Based on the scope of this project, the airport is requiring the company to submit information regarding potential impacts to airspace, including air turbulence and visible plumes relative to its operation. This information would be reviewed by the airport to determine compliance with the airport zoning code.”
A QTS spokesperson issued a statement on the plan, indicating that “temporary, on-site power generation is a standard part of commissioning large-scale infrastructure projects, including data centers.”
The project requires permits from the city of Cedar Rapids, the Federal Aviation Administration and “other regulatory agencies.”
The temporary power facility “allows systems to be fully tested to ensure reliability before operations begin,” the QTS spokeperson said via email.
“At our Cedar Rapids site, temporary generation equipment has been installed on the QTS-owned parcel, and we are working through final permitting details with the city and the FAA,” the spokesperson added. “We expect the system to come online in the coming weeks. These systems are designed for short-term use only and are expected to operate for less than six months during construction and commissioning. They are removed once permanent utility power is available and are not part of long-term operations. We do not expect on-site generation to be needed beyond this initial commissioning phase.”
A spokesperson for the Iowa Utilities Commission clarified the state agency’s stance on the proposal.
“The IUC is not aware of any temporary power facility plans by QTS,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “The company would only be required to seek a certificate of public convenience, use and necessity from the IUC if the electric generating facility would be capable of operating at or above 25 MW, regardless of the plant’s duration.”
The 612-acre QTS campus, in the Big Cedar Industrial Center near the intersection of 76th Avenue and Tissel Hollow Road in Cedar Rapids, will include seven data center buildings, and will be the largest data center in QTS’ portfolio.
At a tour of the site in April, QTS co-CEO Tag Greason said the project is expected to be completed in 16 months.
During the event, U.S. Energy Secretary Adam Wright said the QTS project, with a minimum anticipated investment of $1.75 billion, represents the largest industrial project in Iowa’s history and “one of the largest projects ever built in the world,” catalyzing up to $50 billion in overall regional capital development.
