Alliant raises spending plan to $15.9 billion as data-center demand grows

Alliant Energy increased its four-year capital spending forecast 19 percent to $15.9 billion as data-center projects in Iowa and Wisconsin drive demand for new generation, storage and grid infrastructure.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based company reported 3.4 gigawatts of contracted data-center demand and expects peak electricity demand to rise approximately 60 percent by 2031. Its updated spending forecast covers 2027 through 2030, compared with the previous $13.4 billion plan for 2026 through 2029.

“We expect this work to produce approximately one additional gigawatt of contracted large load within the next six months, creating meaningful upside to our current capital plan,” President and CEO Lisa Barton said during Alliant’s Oct. 30 earnings conference call.

The expansion comes as utilities nationwide prepare for rising electricity use from data centers supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence. A 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report estimated that data centers consumed 4.4 percent of U.S. electricity in 2023 and projected their share could reach 6.7 percent to 12 percent by 2028.

Alliant’s two utilities, Interstate Power and Light in Iowa and Wisconsin Power and Light, are planning around five data-center projects. Alliant’s earnings presentation lists three under construction: QTS and Google facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Meta’s project in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Barton said Google is taking transmission service in Iowa, with electricity demand increasing on the accelerated schedule filed with state regulators. QTS expects to finish commissioning its first two Cedar Rapids buildings in the fourth quarter. Meta is taking distribution service and expects transmission service in the first quarter of 2027.

Alliant identified a previously announced service agreement as supporting Google’s Cedar Rapids expansion. Its first-quarter filing puts that agreement at approximately 370 megawatts. The second Google project now meets Alliant’s resource-planning threshold. The earnings presentation lists it in planning, with demand increasing during 2029 and 2030.

The fifth project, QTS in Clinton, Iowa, has community ordinances under review and projected demand increases from 2028 through 2031, according to the presentation. Discussing Clinton, Barton cited potential annual QTS property-tax payments of $20 million to $60 million, comparing them with about $5 million for the second-largest property-tax payer.

Alliant is adding local permitting to its criteria for including large customers in its plans. Its existing requirements include an executed service agreement and visibility into land, transmission and generation. The presentation specifies land control, transmission studies underway or completed, and generation planned to match customer demand.

The presentation lists two to four gigawatts of advanced prospects. Barton said discussions cover three existing sites with expansion opportunities plus seven additional sites.

Mesabi Metallics, an iron ore and steel developer, has announced plans for an Iowa steel complex. Barton said Mesabi expects to locate its plants in Alliant’s service territory in Lee County, Iowa. Its initial capacity needs are in the resource plan, and much of its demand could be curtailed. Mesabi is excluded from both the data-center prospect range and the anticipated additional gigawatt.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Durian estimated $2 billion to $3 billion of additional capital spending per additional gigawatt, primarily for capacity resources. Demand from the next gigawatt would begin increasing around 2029 and 2030, he said, with related spending extending into 2031 and beyond.

The plan allocates $6.8 billion to thermal generation and liquefied natural gas infrastructure, $5.1 billion to energy storage and renewables, and $4 billion to distribution, technology and other investments. The presentation includes 2,800 megawatts of new gas generation and 280 megawatts of upgrades at existing units.

The resource plan includes 1,200 megawatts of storage and 1,300 megawatts of new renewables. The presentation places gas projects’ projected in-service dates in 2027 through 2031 and storage projects in 2027 through 2030.

The update followed news of a massive new capital infusion for the company.

On Oct. 28, Alliant announced it had closed a separate $5.1 billion lower-interest loan package with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing. It projects up to $1.2 billion in customer savings over the 30-year loans, compared with traditional debt financing, if fully funded.

Alliant said borrowing depends on project progress, eligibility and financing terms, with proposed projects undergoing regulatory review. Its loan announcement lists potential projects including 1.6 gigawatts of new gas generation, 240 megawatts of upgrades and one gigawatt of storage, a different scope from the overall resource plan.

Alliant also extended its Iowa retail electric base rate stability plan by one year through the end of 2030. The commitment applies to base rates, one component of customer bills. In Wisconsin, the company has filed a large-load tariff intended to establish a consistent framework for serving future large customers.

The larger construction program supports Alliant’s target for annual ongoing earnings growth of at least 8 percent during 2027 through 2030. Its financing plan includes $2.7 billion of common equity, with approximately $1.1 billion covered by executed forward agreements, alongside debt, operating cash flow and tax-credit monetization.

Alliant reported third-quarter consolidated net income of $398 million, or $1.52 per share, compared with $281 million, or $1.09 per share, a year earlier. Higher investment-related revenue requirements and income-tax timing contributed to the increase. The company said the tax timing benefit would reverse by year-end and would not increase full-year earnings.

Alliant expects decisions on the second Google project’s customer rate application and Wisconsin’s large-load tariff in the first half of 2027. The presentation specifies the first quarter for Google and the second quarter for the tariff, alongside expected first-half decisions on major proposed Iowa gas projects.

The company plans to file the QTS Clinton customer rate application in the first half of 2027 and seek resource approvals. Durian said Alliant also plans to file a Wisconsin retail electric and gas base rate review in spring 2027 for test years 2028 and 2029.