CIPCO tells Scott County supervisors Hickory Grove plant needed for reliability; company says emissions will meet standards

Central Iowa Power Cooperative executives told the Scott County Board Committee of the Whole that a proposed 240-megawatt Hickory Grove generating station is needed to fill a projected capacity shortfall for member cooperatives and to protect reliability during extreme events. "This project is to serve the rural Iowans that have counted on Eastern Iowa REC and ZIP code for the last 80 plus years," said Andrew St. John, CIPCO general manager and CEO, citing MISO and a recent NERC assessment warning of increasing reliability risk.

CIPCO presenters also addressed siting and emissions. Sam Honnold, manager of generation engineering, said the preferred parcel reduces transmission and pipeline lengths and is farther from residences than an alternative option; Sam Steinman, director of generation assets, outlined regulatory safeguards—NSPS, NESHAP, transport rules and the PSD process—and said dispersion modeling shows the plant would not cause Scott County to exceed National Ambient Air Quality Standards. "Even in the most severe operating case ... Hickory Grove will not cause local air quality to degrade beyond those air quality standards," Steinman said. CIPCO asked the board to create a special‑use category that would allow applicants to seek permits; the company stressed permitting remains subject to Iowa DNR review.