Alliant Energy to retire Wisconsin’s coal-fired Columbia Energy Center in 2024

Alliant Energy announced Tuesday that it will retire its last coal-fired facility in Wisconsin by the end of 2024, as the company pivots toward meeting carbon goals and cutting costs.

Had the 1,100 MW Columbia Energy Center, which began operation in 1975, continued to operate, Alliant would likely have had to pay more than $250 million to keep it going. The closure will also advance Alliant’s Clean Energy Vision, which calls for a 50 percent cut in CO2 emissions by 2030 and the elimination of all coal usage in generation by 2040.

“The closure of Columbia is truly a historic moment as we stop burning coal in our Wisconsin Operations and fully turn our attention to generating cleaner energy using renewable resources, such as solar, battery storage, and high efficiency gas,” David de Leon, president of Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin energy company, said. “While we are pleased to reach agreement with the co-owners on this retirement date for the facility, we will not be hasty in the final years of operation. We will take care of our employees and provide career assistance to those who are interested while tending to the community we so proudly serve.”

Alliant will consult community leaders to determine the best use of the site, located in Columbia County.

The company intends to add community solar, customer hosted solar, battery storage pilots, and at least 1,000 MW of new utility-scale solar operations in Wisconsin. As of last May, it already had plans for 675 MW of solar operations and has teased an upcoming reveal of its solar plans’ next phase.

Official retirement dates for Units 1 and 2 of the Columbia Energy Center remain dependent on further state and regional regulatory reviews.