Alliant prepping to go online with new battery energy storage site in Wever | Daily Gate City - Keokuk, Iowa

Sitting across the gravel road to the north of the Koch Fertilizer plant, it’s easy to miss the new Alliant Energy solar and battery energy storage site.

Alliant’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) could easily be mistaken for part of the massive plant when driving past it on Highway 61.

But despite its proximity to the plant, the battery site is its own separate operation, and one that is expected to be a crucial piece of infrastructure in the region for years to come.

Members of the local media were invited to the site, located at 3519 180th St. in Wever, for a special tour hosted by Alliant Energy on Wednesday afternoon.

Construction for the site began in May 2025.

The battery storage site is expected to be fully operational on Jan. 30 and sits adjacent to Alliant’s 150-megawatt solar energy farm (which also happens to be the largest solar energy project in the state of Iowa) to the east.

The 99-megawatt battery storage site, which is able to store energy both from the solar farm and other sources, will soon be able to provide power to over 100,000 homes for up to approximately four hours.

Abichu Abebe, manager of engineering for Alliant, told Mississippi Valley Publishing that the solar farm was one of the reasons why the energy company opted to build the BESS site in Wever.

“It’s actually better for our customers, because when we have excess solar production, we can utilize that excess to charge the batteries,” Abebe said.

“And when there’s a high demand for energy, then we release that. It’s reliable and very affordable for our customers.”

The facility has an estimated 20-year lifespan and will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The site consists of 128 battery storage units and 34 inverters.

The site was designed and built by FlexGen, an energy storage technology company based out of Durham, North Carolina.

Devin Keber, vice president of safety and compliance for FlexGen, told media that the battery units and other components at the site were created with much thought given towards safety.

“One of the great things about this specific design is that chemistry plays a big, big part of it,” Keber said, adding that the batteries were created from lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

“These (batteries) have the LFP technology in them. So, they’re going to be less susceptible (to)any type of thermal runaway or any issues inside the battery.

“Also, with the same technology, you can beat it up, honestly. It just keeps on going. So that helps with the degradation curve. In other words, it allows the battery to keep working longer so they won’t (have to be replaced) as often.”

The batteries are around 98% recyclable, Keber added.

Keber was in town on Wednesday to meet and train with area firefighters on how to best handle any fires at the site should they occur.

Other safety features the site has include the remote battery unit remote monitoring capabilities that can not only set off fire alarms, but also detect if any fires become explosive or emit any gases.

“Anytime there’s any fire alarm that goes off, it automatically opens up all the contactors (which essentially function as electro-mechanical switches that can disconnect the batteries from their connections),” Keber said.

“(And) our remote operating center is going to know if there is an issue long before that fire alarm goes off.”

The site was designed to function unmanned and run from a computer. But Keber said that doesn’t mean the site is completely free of boots on the ground.

“There’s monthly preventative maintenance (required),” Keber said.

“There’s an entire schedule of periodic maintenance. So there’s going to be people on-site periodically to make sure the site is operating responsibly.

“But, generally speaking, day-to-day operations can be run by one guy on a laptop.”

Adam Sodersten, communication specialist for Alliant, said the project represents another effort to best provide energy to Alliant customers.

“I think this is a technology that Alliant is excited about,” Sodersten said.

“This is something that is emerging. Batteries are continuing to get better and better and better.

“And this is just a very responsible way to make sure that energy is always available when it’s needed.”