Alliant eyes 1,000-MW solar buildout on top of active wind installations

Alliant Energy said Friday it is likely to file in the second quarter with regulators its rate plan covering the first tranche of a 1,000 MW solar buildout that will continue through 2023 in Wisconsin.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based utility holding company said that it is also "watching closely" legislative initiatives that suggest that neighboring Iowa is "early in the process" of building out solar generation in a state where Alliant subsidiary Interstate Power and Light already has a significant wind generation fleet.

"We're putting renewable energy to work for our customers by advancing our renewable energy investments and preparing the energy grid for more distributed energy resources." John Larsen, Alliant Energy Chairman, President and CEO, told analysts.

Alliant serves 965,514 electricity customers and meets a summer peak demand of 5,459 MW. Alliant's regulated utilities currently own 12 wind farms with 1,890 MW of capacity.

The company's CEO noted the recent completion of the 200-MW Whispering Willow North Wind project in Iowa.

"We now have nearly 70% of our planned 1,000 megawatts of new wind placed into service for our Iowa customers. We are on track to complete the balance of this plan by the end of this year."

The company has said it will also be adding 730 MW of gas-fired generation this year to "complement renewables." Larsen said the West Riverside Energy Center, located in Southern Wisconsin, is "over 98% complete" and expected to be in service "in the coming weeks."

In his presentation, Larsen noted that 30% of Alliant's fossil-fuel generation capacity has been "permanently retired" since 2005, which included over 1,000 MW of coal-fired generation. He said that air quality control systems are reducing emissions from the remaining coal-fired generation.

In the company's 2019 sustainability report, it says that renewables will be 30% of the energy mix by 2030, and that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fueled generation will be reduced 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. It also says that water supply needs from fossil-fueled generation will be decreased by 75%.

"By 2050 we will eliminate all existing coal from our energy mix and CO2 emissions from fossil-fueled generation will be reduced by 80%," the report says.

Asked about the year 2040 goals, Alliant said it will be updating its sustainability report later this year to include that data.

FLAT SALES IN 209 VS. 2018

For 2019, Alliant reported Friday that its electric sales totaled 31,794 MWh, only slightly above the 31,584 MWh reported sold in 2018.

It said that residential sales totaled 7,207 MWh compared with 7,367 MWh in 2018.

Electric sales to industrial users totaled 10,664 in 2019, down slightly from 10,969, in 2018.

INCOME AND REVENUE

Alliant reported operating income of $160.9 million in Q4 2019, up from $121.4 million in Q4 2018.

In all of 2019, its operating income totaled $777.7 million, compared with $694.4 million 2018.

Alliant said its total revenue in Q4 2019 was $880 million, with $713 million coming from its electric utilities.

In all of 2019, Alliant had revenue of $3.64 billion, with $3.06 billion coming from electric utilities and $455 million from its gas utility operations.