Hickory Grove Generating Station

Reliable Power for Rural Iowa

Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) is determined to supply our Member-owners with reliable energy that is derived from a diverse, and dependable, mix of resources. Planning and development are underway for a new natural gas-fired generation facility to be located in Eastern Iowa. Hickory Grove Generating Station will sit on 30-acres near Maysville, in rural Scott County.

This generating facility is critically needed to meet the power demands of members today and for the decades ahead. This facility will bolster CIPCO's “all-the-above” resource portfolio strategy and add to our diverse mix of energy resources and join the existing fleet of Iowa’s dependable, and long-lasting, natural gas-fired power plants. Located near Maysville in Hickory Grove Township, CIPCO is excited to expand upon its presence in the region, having operated a dispatch and transmission facility in nearby Wilton for over 35 years, in addition to providing wholesale power to Eastern Iowa Light & Power REC, the local distribution electric cooperative serving large portions of rural Scott County.

This natural gas project will:

Generate safe and stable power
This power plant will be used during periods of critical peak demand, especially in the winter and summer months. This dispatchable resource is critically needed during those times to maintain a reliable, cost-effective power supply for our members while providing stability to Iowa’s electric grid.

Cost effectively preserves energy reliability
Many different types of responsive energy resources were exhaustively evaluated, and the results clearly show that adding natural gas peaking generation will bring responsible balance of economy, flexibility and dependability to CIPCO’s resource portfolio.

Promote a positive impact on neighboring communities
CIPCO is dedicated to strong ties within the communities we serve. This commitment includes working with surrounding landowners, transparently addressing community concerns and being mindful of all those affected by a new generation asset in the region.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) to be located in rural Scott County is a project being developed by Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO). CIPCO is a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was founded in 1946. As a G&T electric cooperative, CIPCO is wholly owned and governed by 13-member electric distribution cooperatives and associations, that receive wholesale power from the utility. Through those Member-owners, CIPCO provides electricity to 58 counties stretching from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of Iowa.

While CIPCO will be the owner and operator of the HGGS, the cooperative will hire various entities to perform design and engineering work as well as construction companies to prepare the site and construct the facility.

Click here for more information about CIPCO.

The Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) will be a natural gas-fired facility that is capable of providing 240 Mega-watts (MW) of electricity when running at full capacity. The facility, located east of Maysville, Iowa, will sit on approximately 30 acres encompassing the generating station and the substation.

The need to establish the HGGS comes as a result of strategic planning conducted by the CIPCO Board of Directors and the professional staff that work for the cooperative. Like all other utilities, CIPCO performs this critical research to ensure that the cooperative is able to meet the power demands of our member-owners, all day, every day. CIPCO carried out an exercise that is often referred to as integrated resource planning (IRP) that definitively acknowledged that additional generation resources would be required in order to meet current and future demands for electricity. Furthermore, the IRP process revealed that CIPCO’s current power mix is responsibly derived from a diverse menu of generation resources and that a natural gas-powered facility would provide the most cost-effective and reliable resource to add to the cooperative’s electricity portfolio.

The HGGS will be a “peaking” power facility that is not intended to run all the time. Rather, this power plant will typically be used during times when electricity demand is high and exceed the baseload power capacity that is available to serve the needs of member-consumers. CIPCO anticipates that the HGGS will operate less than 20% of the calendar year.

Click here for more information about CIPCO’s current generation portfolio.

The location of the Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) was chosen to be established near Maysville in Northern Scott County for many reasons. The CIPCO Board of Directors selected the location over other locations due to the area supplying the necessary infrastructure in addition to the proximity of the region where the cooperative is experiencing an increase in demand for electricity. The Hickory Grove site is uniquely positioned to provide economically feasible access to existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure in addition to being near current CIPCO-owned transmission lines that will provide efficient connection to the power grid. These characteristics of the Hickory Grove location will help minimize disruption for local landowners and keep costs of the project lower than other sites that were extensively evaluated.

Eastern Iowa continues to experience increased demands for power and like other utilities that serve consumers in the region, CIPCO is committed to meeting those needs through responsible additions to our energy offerings, like the HGGS.

No. Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) will be operated as a peaking facility to provide power when needed. The energy center will have quick-start capability to meet fluctuating energy demand, needing just 10 minutes to reach full capacity.

Peaking facilities reliably serve members during periods of peak energy use. Seasonal peak energy use typically occurs during very hot or very cold weather, while daily peaks tend to occur early in the morning and evening hours when people are at home and using larger appliances.

During the construction of the Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS), a substantial uptick in traffic east of Maysville will be experienced. It is anticipated that a majority of the roadway traffic will be experienced utilizing Interstate 80 as construction crews and equipment travel to and from the site from the Quad Cities area.

CIPCO is committed to being a good neighbor during construction of the facility and beyond and we will work with State and County DOT officials to maintain safe passage for all of the area’s commuters while using the same roadways.

Once construction of the facility is completed and the plant goes into operation, CIPCO expects minimal traffic flowing in and out of the HGGS consisting mostly of permanent staff and routine deliveries.

The Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) is being constructed to serve as a peaking power plant which means the facility will not always be operational. When producing electricity, the operation of the facility will result in the creation of some audible noise from the equipment and exhaust emissions from the fuel source. The HGGS will be a state-of-the-art facility and be constructed to specifications that are meant to limit these emissions to the extent possible. For security reasons, and whether the plant is operating or not, there will be lighting at the facility that can be seen at night. CIPCO will work to mitigate any light pollution by using only necessary safety lighting and will position the installations to reduce the visibility of the beams seen by nearby landowners.

CIPCO is dedicated to continuing the cooperative’s long history of being a respectful neighbor and an upstanding member of the North Scott community. CIPCO is committed to operating the HGGS in a way that minimizes any nuisances that may be experienced by those residing or conducting business nearby.

The location of the facility was chosen in part due to the distance the HGGS will be located from nearby residences, farms and businesses. The unit will be set back from the road and other property boundaries by several hundred feet. In addition to the necessary lighting to ensure physical safety of the facility, the HGGS’s exhaust stack will be visible from various distances and directions, which will be approximately 150 feet tall.

CIPCO expects work to be done at the site in multiple phases over the 3-year construction schedule. As the site is prepared for the building to begin, the amount of activity in the area will gradually increase and it is anticipated that approximately 200 construction workers (concrete pouring, carpenters, pipe/steamfitters, electricians, etc.) will be employed in the region at different times. When the facility begins normal operations, CIPCO expects to have between 5 to 7 full-time employees operating and maintaining the HGGS.

The decision-making process, as well as the approval process with the establishment of the Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS), is lengthy and robust. Local, State and Federal officials will be involved in the approvals necessary to allow CIPCO to move forward with this energy and economic development project.

At the local level, the Scott County Board of Supervisors, based in part on the review and recommendation of the Scout County Planning and Zoning Commission, will be required to approve adding an additional category to the County’s zoning ordinance that allows for a special use permit to be applied for by an entity looking to construct and operate an electric energy generation facility. Further, the Scott County Board of Adjustment will need to approve the application for such a permit following the Board of Supervisor’s creation of the special use category for energy generation facilities. CIPCO will work with Scott County officials and staff to provide the necessary information about the HGGS in order to secure local satisfaction in proving the need for the project and the expected benefits to the North Scott community.

At the State level, the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) that provides regulatory oversight for electric utility projects in Iowa, will also play a role in approving the need for the HGGS by approving a generating certificate through a formal proceeding. The IUC will analyze the project to ensure that the natural gas facility is a needed and adequate power generation source, as well as review and verify the financial soundness of the project.

The Iowa Department of Natural resources will conduct required reviews for the issuance of air permits in accordance with both state and federal requirements.

At the Federal level, as an electric cooperative, CIPCO has access to entering into a familiar private-public partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for partial funding of the facility. The USDA will be responsible for verifying that the facility is needed to meet the demand for electricity in the CIPCO system and our members and will be done so in a financially responsible manner.

Finally, as a generation and transmission electric cooperative, CIPCO’s business model requires governance and decision-making for the utility to be made by the Member-owners of the cooperative. In CIPCO’s case, the Board of Directors is made up of one representative of each cooperative or association that owns and decides how the utility will operate.

CIPCO is proud of the safety culture that has been built and maintained by the cooperative for decades. Safety is and will remain our top priority. The Cooperative long ago established an internal safety program that educates and monitors employees across all disciplines to ensure that performing the duties of operating an electric utility are done with safety being top of mind.

Similarly, CIPCO is committed to not only building the Hickory Grove Generating Station with safe construction practices at the forefront, but also the operation and maintenance of the facility long after the concrete has been cured. CIPCO has a high standard of adhering to the creation of safe workspaces and a solid track record of meeting safety goals. The cooperative wholly owns and operates another natural gas-powered generation facility in the Creston area called the Summit Lake Generating Station and has a proven history of operating the plant with high safety standards.

The Hickory Grove Generating Station (HGGS) expects to use less than one million gallons of water annually. The peaking facility will house a natural gas-fired turbine but unlike other generation resources, the equipment used in this process does not utilize open loop cooling like a combined cycle facility, nuclear facility or large data center might require. The HGGS design includes two water retention ponds at the location but those are strictly for stormwater run-off to ensure the safety of the water from the facility that will eventually reach Hickory Creek.

Yes. Whether you are a member of an electric cooperative or if you are a customer of another electric utility, energy users in Scott County and beyond will benefit from the Hickory Grove Generating Station and the power produced there. While this facility will be 100% owned and operated by CIPCO and our member electric cooperatives, the reality is that electricity follows the path of least resistance and so power produced at the HGGS will be consumed by energy users across the entire region. This increased dependable and reliable energy resource will be a benefit to the entire Scott County community.

Beyond that direct benefit, HGGS will be a peaking facility, meaning that while it isn’t expected to run 24/7/365, the quick-start capability of the plant will strengthen the electric grid as a whole by serving as a dispatchable resource facility in the event of weather-related disasters, physical or cyber-attacks on infrastructure, or unplanned outages occur at other generation facilities that were not expected to go offline. The HGGS will serve as a safety net for energy users at times when they need it the most.

No. The Hickory Grove Generation Station (HGGS) is not directly connected to the development of any one specific data center development nor dependent upon any single energy consumer. The purpose of this project is to ensure CIPCO continues to provide affordable, efficient and dependable power directly to our members and subsequently Scott County electricity users and those who rely on stable power coming from the regional electric grid. While the existence of the HGGS will undoubtedly benefit energy users from residential, agricultural, industrial and commercial classes; this project is not tied to any one individual user or other economic development project.

Power & Operations

Generation

Energy Portfolio

Transmission

Fast Facts & Resources

Efficient, powerful, simple-cycle combustion turbine technology
Quick-start and around the clock capability
Net output of 240 MW
Generating station online late 2029
Estimated total project cost of 350-400 million dollars
Projected to create 200 cumulative jobs during construction
Estimated to create 5-7 new permanent jobs

For more information contact:

Kerry Koonce
Vice President Communications & Corporate Relations
Email: kerry.koonce@cipco.net
Phone: (515) 362-7699
Kevin Condon
Director, Public Affairs
Email: kevin.condon@cipco.net
Phone: (515) 362-7698

Media inquiries may be directed to Kerry Koonce.

Reliable Power for Rural Iowa

This natural gas project will:

Who is developing this project?

What are the basics of the project and why it is needed?

Why did CIPCO prioritize Scott County, Iowa, as the site location?

Will this generating station run all the time?

How will traffic and roadways be impacted?

Will the generating station create a lot of noise, steam or light?

How visible will the generating station be?

What career opportunities will be available at the generating station?

Who approves the generating station project to be built in Scott County?

How safe is the generating station going to be?

How much water will the plant use?

Will the power from the plant benefit me?

Is this project connected to data center development?

Power & Operations

Fast Facts & Resources