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Iowa Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Iowa — updated daily.
Recent Iowa data center news
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Meta announces $1 billion Data Center Investment in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Project
Meta announced a major investment to build an AI-optimized data center campus in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, located in Alliant Energy’s Beaver Dam Commerce Park and expected to come online in 2027.
- Project details and commitments: Meta will invest more than $1 billion to build an AI-optimized data center campus spanning over 700,000 square feet with operational buildings targeting LEED Gold; the site is expected online in 2027, will support more than 1,000 skilled trade jobs at peak construction and 100+ operational jobs, and Meta will match the site’s electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy while underwriting nearly $200 million in energy infrastructure (network upgrades, utility substations, transmission lines).
- Background, timelines and environmental actions: Over the next ten years, Meta will donate $15 million to Alliant Energy’s Hometown Care Energy Fund; the facility will use dry cooling (no water demands for cooling when operational) and Meta will restore 100% of water consumed by the Beaver Dam site to local watersheds; the project includes restoration of 570 acres of wetland and prairie (with 175 acres deeded to Ducks Unlimited). The site is in Alliant Energy’s largest certified commerce park, designated a WEDC certified site in 2019.
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Alliant Energy Announces Third Quarter 2025 Results and 2026 Guidance
Alliant Energy announced third-quarter 2025 financial results, narrowed 2025 ongoing EPS guidance, issued 2026 EPS guidance, raised its 2026 dividend target, and increased projected capital expenditures to serve new large data-center demand.
Quarterly results & guidance: Reported GAAP EPS $1.09 and ongoing (non‑GAAP) EPS $1.12 for Q3 2025; narrowed 2025 ongoing EPS guidance to $3.17 - $3.23 and provided 2026 ongoing EPS guidance of $3.36 - $3.46. 2026 annual common dividend target increased to $2.14 per share. Conference call scheduled Nov 7, 2025 at 9 a.m. CT hosted by Lisa Barton and Robert Durian (dial 800-549-8228 or 646-564-2877; webcast at www.alliantenergy.com/investors).
Load, capital and adjustments: Utilities IPL and WPL now have 3 GW of contracted data-center demand including a newly executed 900 MW ESA for QTS Madison; Alliant expects peak energy demand to grow ~50% by 2030. To serve expected load while maintaining reliability, Alliant increased its 2026–2029 forecasted capital expenditures to $13.4 billion and provided detailed annual capex plans (2025–2029 in millions). Non‑GAAP adjustment: $8 million state income tax apportionment charge (equivalent to $0.03 EPS).
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Alliant Energy announces third quarter 2025 results and 2026 guidance
Alliant Energy Corporation announced third quarter 2025 results and provided 2026 guidance.
- Main announcement: Alliant Energy narrowed 2025 ongoing earnings guidance to $3.17 - $3.23 per share, announced 2026 earnings guidance of $3.36 - $3.46 per share (a 6.6% increase over 2025), and set a 2026 annual common stock dividend target of $2.14 per share (a 5.4% increase over 2025). The company also increased contracted data center demand to 3 GW (a 50% increase in peak load demand by 2030) and increased its 4-year capital expenditure forecast by 17% to $13.4 billion.
- Background and details: Alliant Energy is a regulated energy provider serving approximately 1 million electric and 430,000 natural gas customers across Iowa and Wisconsin through its utilities Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL). The release includes an investor link to the full news release and media contact information (Iowa phone: (319) 786-4040; Wisconsin phone: (608) 458-4040; email: alliantenergynews@alliantenergy.com).
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Google Has Deal With NextEra to Restart Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant
NextEra Energy announced Google has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement that enables NextEra to restart the 615-MW Duane Arnold Energy Center and NextEra has agreed to acquire CIPCO and Corn Belt’s combined 30% interest to become the plant’s sole owner.
- Main announcement: NextEra and Google signed a 25-year PPA for power from the 615-MW Duane Arnold Energy Center; NextEra said the contract “enables the investment to restart the plant and covers costs for the production of energy from Duane Arnold.” NextEra expects the plant could be operational as soon as early 2029, and CIPCO will buy output under the same contract terms as Google.
- Background and details: NextEra agreed to acquire Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative’s combined 30% interest to assume full ownership; Google noted a recent $7-billion investment in Iowa and said the restart supports its cloud and AI infrastructure in the state. NextEra stated it is coordinating with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local authorities and has nearly 3 GW of projects executed with Google nationwide.
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Our new agreement with NextEra Energy will bring Iowa’s only nuclear plant back to life.
Google announced a collaboration with NextEra Energy to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa.
- Main action: Google and NextEra Energy will restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center (Iowa’s only nuclear plant); the company expects the plant to be back online in early 2029, providing more than 600 MW of clean, safe, “always-on” nuclear energy to the regional grid, and Google says it will enable the investment to restart the plant and cover production costs.
- Background/details: The announcement frames restarting a once fully operational plant as the fastest near-term path to scale nuclear capacity to meet AI and cloud infrastructure growth in Iowa; the post also references Google work on advancing new clean generation, flexible demand, and next-generation transmission partnerships (links to Google sustainability and blog posts provided).
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Why This Summer’s Heat Proved the Case for a Smarter Grid
Marcus Krembs of Enel North America argues that smarter, flexible grid resources and rapid deployment of renewables, storage, and demand response helped the U.S. grid avoid major blackouts during the extreme Summer 2025 heat, and that faster transformation is required.
- Main announcement/action: The commentary states that renewables, storage, and demand response materially improved grid resilience during Summer 2025 — citing 44% renewable supply through the first seven months of 2025, 13.5 GW of new renewable generation in Texas that reduced ERCOT blackout risk from 11% to <1%, and projected demand-response dispatches (from 411 last summer to a projected 720 dispatches this year). It calls for accelerated interconnection reform, more transmission, and scaled storage to meet rising demand.
- Background and details: Provides supporting facts: fossil-fuel generation reached 290 TWh (nine-year high), PJM reduced load by >4,000 MW during extreme peaks using demand response, and the Department of Energy projects data center electricity demand could reach 12% of U.S. consumption by 2028. Mentions specific partnerships/agreements: Google signed demand response agreements with Indiana Michigan Power and Tennessee Power Authority for its AI data centers.
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New Data Center Developments: September 2025
DataCenterKnowledge published a curated roundup of recent global data center project announcements and large power and financing deals.
- Key development summary: The roundup details multiple major projects and deals, including Equinix’s new partnerships with Radiant, ULC-Energy, and Stellaria for next-gen nuclear power and expanded solid-oxide fuel cell use with Bloom Energy; Caterpillar agreed with Joule Capital Partners to provide 4 GW of CHP power for a planned Utah campus (target launch sometime next year); Meta’s Hyperion Louisiana campus is expected to consume up to 5 GW; CoreWeave bought a 102-acre campus for $322 million; Vantage revealed plans to invest over $25 billion in a 1.4 GW / 1,200-acre Texas campus; EdgeConneX and Lambda are developing a 30+ MW dual-city AI data center in Chicago and Atlanta; Oracle / Elea / Rio de Janeiro target 1.5 GW by 2027 (expandable to 3.2 GW by 2032) for ‘Rio AI City’.
- Background and technical/financial details: The article frames projects against record-breaking demand and grid limitations; it notes energy and cooling approaches such as CHP and captured waste heat, solid-oxide fuel cells, high-voltage battery storage, and CDC Australia’s proposed 200 MW campus with a closed-loop zero-water primary cooling system. It also lists financing and deal figures: QTS announcing a $10 billion campus, STACK investing $1.66 billion in Johor, NEXTDC adding A$3.5 billion new debt within A$6.4 billion total facilities, and Keppel raising $4.9 billion this year toward a $150 billion funds target by 2030.
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Data center vacancies plummet amid power supply constraints
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New U.S. Policies Won’t Slow ‘Fast-Moving’ AI Data Center Industry, Experts Say
Congress and the White House unveiled new federal laws and policy proposals on AI infrastructure in July, notably Congress’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Act and the White House’s AI Action Plan.
Confirmed actions and figures: The White House’s AI Action Plan accompanied announcements of $92 billion in company investments into AI infrastructure; Congress’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ includes the sunsetting of renewable energy tax credits while also adding R&D tax incentives (noted by Tyler Thompson of Reed Smith). Experts cite concrete constraints: data center construction currently takes two to three years, vacancy rates are at record-low and the industry may need two or three times current compute capacity for AI workloads.
Planned initiatives and expressed concerns: The AI Action Plan proposes permitting reforms, enabling building on federal land, and electric grid upgrades; it also signals withholding federal funding from states with “burdensome” AI regulations. Industry voices proposed regulatory and technology responses—streamlining SMR regulation and investment in BESS (battery energy storage systems)—and warned that announced investments will take years to materialize (opinion/commentary from industry experts).
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Potential Energy: Is BESS the Answer to Data Centers’ Gridlocked Future?
De Gaulle Fleurance hosted a webinar on the evolving role of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Europe’s decarbonization efforts.
- Confirmed facts & project data: The webinar featured legal and energy experts from France, Belgium, Poland, and the UK; RTE projects renewable output could reach 320 TWh by 2035; battery capacity grew from <50 MW to 1.07 GW in five years, with >7 GW of projects holding grid access rights; the EU added 11.9 GW of BESS last year and the U.S. reported a 34% storage increase as of March 2024; identified vendors include ZincFive, Schneider Electric, Eaton, EPC Power, and Vertiv; U.S. states with SGIPs: California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and other supportive states include Virginia, Oregon, Iowa, Texas.
- Costs, policies & planned initiatives: Reported average BESS cost $400–$600 per kWh (Exenell); U.S. is on track to install ~15 GW in 2025 (~25% increase over 2024) (projection); NESO’s connections reform is expected/hopecasting to unlock £40 billion ($53 billion) per year (anticipated); regulatory milestones cited include FERC Order No. 841 (2020) allowing batteries in wholesale markets and EU measures like VAT exemptions and tariff waivers; distinctions noted between confirmed deployments (installed GW) and planned/projection figures (15 GW in 2025, NESO investment expectations).