Alliant’s proposed gas-fired power plant meets blowback in Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Dozens of residents voiced opposition to a proposed gas-fired power plant during an informational meeting hosted by the Iowa Utilities Commission.

More than 250 people crowded into a ballroom March 23, 2026, in The Hotel at Kirkwood Center to hear Alliant Energy’s proposal for Morgan Valley Energy Center, a natural gas-fired plant proposed on 160 acres south of Highway 30, east of Linn-Benton Road.

The site, on prime farmland, is in unincorporated Linn County, near Fairfax. A previous proposal to build a power plant near Fairfax failed.

Construction would begin in 2027, with the plant operational by 2030, Alliant representatives said during the three-hour meeting.

Mayuri “May” Farlinger, president of Alliant’s Iowa energy company, said the proposed plant is not specifically for the data centers under construction in southwest Cedar Rapids, near where the plant would be built.

Several people in the audience disputed that, asking whether or not the plant would be needed if not for the high-energy-use data centers.

“There is a growing demand across our system,” Farlinger said, citing other projects underway.

Of the more than 30 residents who spoke during a question and answer period, only a few supported the proposal, including Ron Corbett, representing the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.

Corbett noted he had been mayor of Cedar Rapids in the aftermath of the record 2008 flood, during which time he oversaw sometimes contentious meetings.

Former state senator Rob Hogg said when he heard Corbett mention the devastating flood, he hoped Corbett would have talked about climate change and the billions of dollars the city has spent related to flood mitigation.

Alliant representatives said the new plant would cost “hundreds of millions,” but didn’t have a better estimate than that when asked by Hogg, and said they didn’t have an estimate on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the plant would produce, which contributes to climate change.

Farlinger did not specify how Alliant would pay for the construction costs, while neighbors noted they use rural electric power and are not Alliant customers.

While the project is also supported by labor unions, the plant would employ just 6 to 20 full-time workers once constructed.

Cindy Anderson of Fairfax said she had to wait 40 minutes due to construction traffic to leave her driveway last week, but rarely sees Iowa license plates among the workers building the new data centers nearby.

Residents questioned the amount of air, light and noise pollution, raising the connection between emissions and health issues such as asthma and cancer, but Alliant officials said studies by Linn County Public Health and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have not yet been completed.

Three exhaust stacks would be approximately 150 feet tall, and a gas pipeline would have to be constructed that could potentially involve the use of eminent domain, officials said, adding Alliant would possibly use water from the city of Cedar Rapids.

Several people also questioned how Linn County and Alliant could achieve stated emissions reduction goals by building a new gas-powered plant, and asked why Alliant was not considering solar and wind instead.

Alliant serves more than 80 counties in Iowa, with 500,000 electric customers and 225,000 natural gas customers.

While Alliant does not currently own the farmland, it has an option to purchase the 160 acres, of which 20 acres would be used for the power plant.

“What about the people who live around there,” said Jane Scheer, who lives on her family’s heritage farm near the proposed site, just across the Benton County line.

About half of the farm’s 250 acres is planted in prairie, Scheer said, with the endangered rusty patched bumble bee likely present.

“Sound, light and air pollution does not stop at the county line,” Scheer’s sister, Martha Scheer, said, also citing safety issues with the road and the irreversible nature of constructing the plant. “Once that goes up, that’s it. You can’t get that farmland back.”

Even before the studies have been completed, Alliant officials said they didn’t foresee any impacts to wetland, endangered species or cultural resources.

Benton County resident Rob Hursh asked where those studies would be conducted.

“There’s no endangered species in that cornfield,” he said.

None of the statements during the 2 1/2 hours of public comment were entered into the record and no decisions were made at the meeting.

Residents must go online to iuc.iowa.gov to file comments or objections, using docket No. GCU-2026-0002.

Written comments may also be mailed to: Iowa Utilities Commission, 1375 E. Court Ave., Des Moines, IA 50319. The docket number must be included. For further help, call (515) 725-7300.