U.S. utility Alliant Energy has announced plans to eliminate coal-fired generation, cut its greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, invest US$2.3 billion in new renewable energy and grid infrastructure projects over the next five years, and increase its portfolio of wind farms from six to 12.
Alliant expects its installed wind capacity to hit 2,700 megawatts by 2021.
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With renewables set to exceed 30% of its energy mix by 2030, “the utility said the plan will set a more aggressive course than what the United States originally pledged in the United Nations Paris climate accord, [a commitment] which called for reducing carbon 32% below 2005 levels by 2030,” Utility Dive reports. Alliant’s plan “targets a 40% reduction by 2030.”
“Alliant joins a handful of utilities announcing plans to eliminate coal use and increase investment in renewables,” the industry publication notes. “In June, Consumers Energy announced it would file a long-term plan that calls for nixing coal use by 2040 and more than tripling renewable energy utilization over the course of the next 10 years. In January, PPL Corp. said it expects most of its Kentucky coal fleet to be retired by 2050, and Duke Energy has included coal-less scenarios in its long-term planning.”
Alliant also committed to closing all its coal ash ponds by 2023, and announced it had achieved gender parity on its board of directors.
