Quality of Life Achievements –  The project team demonstrated how it identified, assessed and incorporated the local community’s needs, goals and issues into the project. The vision of the project aligned with the goals and objectives of the state’s Clean Energy Plan and those of Cassville, the host community. Key stakeholders at the municipal and county levels expressed approval of the project and its execution based on its proactive communication approach and its economic, environmental and public health benefits for the community.

Plan for Sustainable Communities – This project provides an opportunity for Alliant Energy and the state of Wisconsin to advance their long-term clean energy goals and promote sustainability. Alternative analyses determined the comparative impact of a no-build option. Additional studies and reports demonstrated the project addresses an unsustainable condition in the state and the town of Cassville, namely continued reliance on other types of energy production that cause emissions. The project supports goals related to reducing carbon emissions and the elimination of coal generation.

Resource Allocation – The project advances key resource-allocation goals, the most prominent being greater reliance on renewable energy. As a utility-scale solar photovoltaic energy generation facility, the project will generate a net-positive amount of renewable energy throughout its operational life. In addition, the project site is fully balanced in accordance with cut and fill engineering calculations. No fill material has been imported to the site and no excavated material has been removed from the site. Finally, the project team assessed the potential net impact of the project on freshwater availability, quantity and quality at a watershed scale. It determined the project has a net-positive impact on the region’s water resources. In the future, there may be an opportunity to document the project as part of a regional watershed improvement plan.

Natural World Credits – The project team identified potential sources of surface water and groundwater contamination from construction and operation of the project, and implemented robust mitigation measures to prevent and minimize impacts. The project’s conversion of agricultural land into prairie grassland made it possible to improve water quality beyond the existing conditions. Subsequently, Alliant Energy entered an agreement with the Potosi-Tennyson Sewerage Commission to provide phosphorus credits to offset loadings from the Potosi-Tennyson Wastewater Treatment Plant to comply with water quality based effluent limits.

Reduce Air Pollutant Emissions – The project represents a significant step toward implementing clean energy technologies to offset energy generation fired by fossil fuels. Alliant Energy designed these investments to improve ambient air quality and provide customers competitive and reliable power for decades to come. Energy the project generates will offset electricity that would otherwise be produced by fossil fuel-burning sources.

Improve Infrastructure Integration – As a generation facility for a regional power grid, this project is required to go through extensive studies to ensure service reliability. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator regulate its operation. Because of the volume of data required to monitor and maintain function in line with the interconnect agreement, the project scope includes installation of a fiber-optic network. The network can transmit data at a higher capacity and faster speed than traditional conductive wire networks, thereby supporting a more integrated energy system.