Cedar Falls Council OKs land conveyance for CFU’s Viking Energy Center
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Summary
The Cedar Falls City Council approved transferring city-owned land to Cedar Falls Utilities for the Viking Energy Center, a locally controlled, natural‑gas‑fired generation facility initially sized at 36 MW (two engines) and expandable to eight engines; council approved the quit claim deed after a public hearing.
Council approved a quit claim deed Nov. 17 conveying Lot 1, West Viking Road Industrial Park Phase 7, to Cedar Falls Utilities to host the Viking Energy Center, a local power generation project the utility says will strengthen reliability and provide fuel flexibility.
Susan Abernathy, general manager for Cedar Falls Utilities, described the project during the public hearing as an initial two‑engine installation that will produce about 36 megawatts and can be expanded to eight engines over time. “The Viking Energy Center will provide our community with resiliency, reliability, fuel flexibility and low cost local control of our power supply,” Abernathy said. She added the reciprocating engines run on natural gas and “can be retrofitted relatively easily for some sort of, renewable fuel in the future, including possibly hydrogen.”
City staff characterized the deed conveyance as the final municipal step to transfer the site for CFU’s new power generation facility. Abernathy said the generation will “modulate beautifully with renewable energy,” letting the engines ramp up when wind or solar output drops to reduce blackout risk. The utility emphasized local control and potential economic benefits including jobs and tax revenues.
After the public hearing, council moved and approved the resolution authorizing execution of the quit claim deed. The clerk reported all members voting aye and the motion carried.
Next steps: the conveyance finalizes the property transfer so CFU can proceed with project implementation and future permitting and construction scheduling; council did not set specific construction dates in the public record.
