Alliant Energy to explore solar array outside Fairfield

FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield City Council will host a public hearing during the Monday, Jan. 8 meeting about the prospect of leasing city-owned land for Alliant Energy to build a solar array.

The land would be across the street from the Fairfield Municipal Airport north of town. Fairfield City Administrator Doug Reinert said the two sides have discussed leasing four acres of the 63 acres the city owns near the airport. If approved, the lease with Alliant Energy would last a minimum of 20 years with the possibility of renewals if the two sides agree to them.

The proposed lease would be for $57,305 per year on land that is currently row crops. Reinert said that if the city and Alliant sign the contract, the farmer who’s leasing the land now would be given a year’s notice, and that the soonest Alliant would begin construction on the solar array would be 2025.

Chris Caporale, a communications partner with Alliant Energy, said the company would need six to nine months to research the viability of building an array and acquiring the necessary permits.

“We’re still at a very early stage in the conversation,” Caporale said. “There’s still permitting and research we need to do to see if this project is even possible.”

Caporale said he’s not sure if the proximity of the planned solar array to the airport would be a complication. He said Alliant built an array near an airport in Wisconsin, and that required a permit from the Federal Aviation Administration. He said the solar panels wouldn’t be that far off the ground, with the bottom of the array about 4-5 feet off the ground and the top between 8-12 feet off the ground.

The proposed solar array would be 2.25 megawatts, and would be done under Alliant Energy’s Customer-Hosted Renewables program, where the customer in this case is the City of Fairfield. Caporale said Alliant has done similar projects, partnering with cities such as Perry and Marshalltown, and in 2023 the company completed a 1.375 megawatt array in Ames, partnering with Iowa State University. Caporale said that every megawatt of energy produced can power about 160 homes for a year. Energy generated from the solar array would go into Alliant’s electrical grid through a local substation.

Caporale said Alliant Energy is committed to renewable energy, and that this past year the company was able to generate 52 percent of its energy from renewable sources, mostly coming from wind power.

“We don’t have a lot of solar online in Iowa right now,” Caporale said. “We’re in the process of some larger buildouts, but wind is still the biggest renewable.”

Reinert said the City of Fairfield perceives this to be a good deal for the city because it not only promotes renewable energy, but it would also bring increased revenue to the city. He said the council is discussing the prospect of funneling the money from the lease to airport maintenance.

“Sustainability is important not only to Fairfield but to the culture in general,” Reinert said. “Hopefully this turns into something beneficial for the city.”

The Fairfield City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. at Fairfield City Hall.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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