Alliant Energy’s West Riverside Energy Center Verified Project Earns an Envision® Platinum Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 19, 2020 – The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) announced today that Alliant Energy’s West Riverside Energy Center project recently earned the Envision Platinum rating for sustainable infrastructure – the highest Envision recognition level. This is Alliant Energy’s sixth power generation facility to receive Envision recognition, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure planning and design.
West Riverside Energy Center is an important part of Alliant Energy’s vision to transition to a cleaner energy future. The $660 million generating facility is a highly efficient combined cycle natural gas facility located near Beloit, Wisconsin. The generating station produces 730 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 550,000 homes.
The West Riverside Energy Center continues the company’s more than 90-year history of serving the Beloit community. Alliant Energy ensured a collaborative and transparent public participation process, engaging community leaders and representatives from over 60 community groups throughout the design and construction process. HDR served as Owner’s Engineer and led the Envision implementation process specified by Alliant Energy. This was a project team effort between the owner, HDR as the Owners Engineer and AECOM, serving as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor.
“Alliant Energy’s commitment to achieving sustainable outcomes through the use of Envision is truly commendable,” said ISI Managing Director Melissa Peneycad. “The West Riverside Energy Center is the latest demonstration of their leadership in sustainability. We are proud and pleased to award this project with a Platinum rating. This is well-deserved recognition.”
“We are proud to receive the Envision Platinum Award for our West Riverside Energy Center project,” said David de Leon, president of Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin energy company. “The West Riverside facility was built with sustainability top of mind and is operated to fit well within its surroundings. This was largely due to the project team following the Envision framework from the design stages all the way through construction of the facility. The facility is a complement to our renewable power sources and a direct benefit to our customers and communities as a 24/7 power provider.”
The Envision sustainable infrastructure framework assesses sustainability across five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Natural World, Resource Allocation, and Climate and Risk. These contribute to positive social, economic and environmental impacts on a community during the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects. Innovative features incorporated into the planning and design of the West Riverside Energy Center include:
Multi-benefit project: Through use of state-of-the-art plume abatement technology, expanding public space and other innovative features, West Riverside Energy Center delivers multiple benefits to the community. For example, the new 0.6-mile Alliant Energy Peace Trail Extension overlooks the native landscaping surrounding the facility and connects to the 12-mile Peace Trail system. Alliant Energy also incorporated the community’s input on aesthetic features, including landscaping berms and trees to enhance the view and integrating the nostalgic “candy cane” striped stacks from the retired and removed Rock River Generating Station.
Energy efficiency strategies: The project team incorporated several energy efficiency strategies to minimize West Riverside Energy Center’s auxiliary load, which represents the amount of energy used to generate electricity. By using variable speed driven motors, lighting optimization and solar-powered exterior lighting, the auxiliary energy consumption of West Riverside Energy Center is about 74% more efficient than the industry standard.
Restoration of natural systems: Alliant Energy restored 67 acres surrounding the facility with native prairie grasses and flowers, creating new habitats and improving habitat connectivity. Before restoring the native prairie, Alliant Energy contracted with a goat-for-hire company to control and eliminate overgrown buckthorn, garlic mustard, honeysuckle and other nuisance plants on over 20 acres of infested areas in an ecologically friendly way. Adding native plants was also one approach to improve stormwater infiltration and enhance the quality of runoff from the site. In combination with other innovative stormwater management practices, West Riverside Energy Center is designed to increase the water storage capacity of the site and even harvest rainwater for use in the facility’s operations.
Improving air quality while providing reliable power: Using natural gas for energy results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide than coal or other petroleum products to produce an equal amount of energy. Working in harmony with Alliant Energy’s growing portfolio of wind and solar power facilities, West Riverside Energy Center will improve air quality and provide customers with competitive and reliable power for decades to come. In addition, Alliant Energy developed a project-specific Climate Impact Assessment and Adaptation Plan, including a detailed review of potential climate change impacts and associated design and operational mitigation strategies.
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PHOTO/IMAGE: West Riverside Energy Center
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Alliant Energy:
Scott Reigstad
(608) 458-3145
ScottReigstad@alliantenergy.com
HDR:
Marcella Thompson
(402) 399-1352
AECOM:
Chad Pulley
(609) 720-2092
Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure
For inquiries related to ISI, Envision or the Envision verification process, contact:
Dyan Lee, Marketing & Communications Director
(972) 841-0982
lee@sustainableinfrastructure.org
PROJECT ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:
About Alliant Energy: Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDQ: LNT) provides regulated energy service to 970,000 electric and 420,000 natural gas customers across Iowa and Wisconsin. Alliant Energy’s mission is to deliver the energy solutions and exceptional service customers and communities count on – safely, efficiently and responsibly. Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company are Alliant Energy’s two public energy companies. Alliant Energy Corporation is a component of the Nasdaq CRD Sustainability Index, Bloomberg’s 2020 Gender-Equality Index, and the S&P 500. For more information, visit alliantenergy.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About HDR: For over a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans more than 10,000 employees in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. For more information, please visit www.hdrinc.com.
About AECOM: AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is the world’s premier infrastructure firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from planning, design and engineering to consulting and construction management. We partner with our clients in the public and private sectors to solve their most complex challenges and build legacies for generations to come. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, governments, energy and the environment, our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm with revenue of approximately $20.2 billion during fiscal year 2019. See how we deliver what others can only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.
About Envision®: Envision is the product of a joint collaboration between ISI, which was founded by three national engineering associations: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and American Public Works Association (APWA), and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Information on ISI and Envision can be found on the ISI website, www.sustainableinfrastructure.org.
