Grant County Solar Project

June 10, 2024

Last month, we officially completed the Grant County Solar Project. At 200 megawatts (MW), it's the largest solar project we operate and completes our buildout of 1,089 MW of solar energy. The final newsletter also includes an update on the energy storage progress at the site, shared revenue payment information, and details about our community solar garden we're constructing in Janesville.

Read further about the progress in our latest project update..pdf

• The Grant County Solar Project is a significant source of new local tax revenue, providing approximately $1 million in annual shared revenue for the Town of Potosi and Grant County.
• During construction, more than 700 jobs were created.
• Alliant Energy will provide lease payments to landowners in the project area for the 30-year lifespan of the project.
• In addition, soil recovery during the project’s lifespan will protect agricultural land and preserve its value for future generations.

• This project will feature grass and seed mixes surrounding the solar panels and throughout the solar arrays that will help build soil nutrients and create a pollinator-friendly habitat. Pollinator-friendly vegetation has been proven to prevent soil erosion and add benefit to high-value crops, creating a win-win for both human and wildlife communities.
• Once the grass matures in four years following construction, the water quality of surrounding waterbodies is expected to improve because of reduced nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and biological oxygen demand entering these waterbodies. This improves the ecological health of the watershed and the quality of life for all inhabitants, as high loadings of these pollutants can produce excess algae growth and degrade the habitat in adjacent waterbodies.
• Requiring only sunlight for fuel, the Grant County Solar Project represents a long-term reduction of traditional fossil fuels for energy generation, creating a clean environment and clean energy future for Wisconsin and the Midwest.

The Grant County Solar Project is one of the 12 solar projects Alliant Energy constructed in Wisconsin. The projects span dozens of communities across nine counties. Collectively, these projects add nearly 1,100 MW of solar energy generation to the state’s energy grid – enough to power nearly 300,000 homes annually.

These projects demonstrate our commitment to advancing clean energy and strengthening the communities we serve. They create an economic boost for communities and landowners while providing customers with reliable, environmentally friendly energy for decades to come.

Collectively, our solar projects, along with the rest of our Clean Energy Blueprint, are also a smart investment that will help customers avoid more than $1.6 billion in long-term costs. They will also provide steady revenue through new construction opportunities, create an estimated 2,000 construction jobs and provide approximately $300 million in revenues to local communities and landowners over an estimated project lifespan of 30 years.

As we move toward creating a healthier environment, these initiatives are positioning Alliant Energy to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity we generate by 2050.

More details on our Clean Energy Blueprint

In August 2023, Alliant Energy received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) to construct a 100-MW utility-scale battery energy storage facility co-located at the Grant County Solar site.

Construction on the Grant County Battery Project is underway and we anticipate the project being completed by Fall 2025.

Learn more about battery storage

Photo caption: 5MW LFP battery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa