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Council approves deed to Cedar Falls Utilities for Viking Energy Center
Summary
Cedar Falls City Council approved a quitclaim deed conveying Lot 1 in West Viking Road Industrial Park to Cedar Falls Utilities to host the Viking Energy Center, a locally controlled generation site planned to start with two natural‑gas engines totaling 36 MW and designed to support renewables and future fuel retrofits.
The Cedar Falls City Council on Monday authorized a quitclaim deed conveying city-owned land in West Viking Road Industrial Park to Cedar Falls Utilities for the Viking Energy Center.
Susan Abernathy, general manager of Cedar Falls Utilities, told the council the project will start with two reciprocating engines that together will provide about 36 megawatts of capacity and could be expanded to as many as eight engines. Abernathy said the engines will run on natural gas initially but can “be retrofitted relatively easily for some sort of renewable fuel in the future, including possibly hydrogen.” She added the facility will provide resiliency and allow the local utility to “modulate beautifully with renewable energy” when intermittent generation drops.
No members of the public objected during the hearing. Mayor opened the item after staff noted the deed is the final step in transferring the specified lot to CFU. Council moved, seconded and approved the resolution authorizing execution of the quitclaim deed on a roll-call vote with all members voting in favor.
The council did not read a detailed financing package on the record; Abernathy described expected community benefits including jobs, local control of power supply, and continued transfers from CFU to the city but did not provide a complete cost or construction timeline in the hearing. The deed and the resolution authorizing it were the formal actions taken at the meeting.
Next steps: CFU will proceed with its development plans for the Viking Energy Center; any construction permits, environmental reviews or fuel‑conversion work would be subject to separate approvals and timelines.
