Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy help Project AWAYSIS “go green”

Utilities partner with Storm Lake for energy savings at King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort

King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort, the first of several tourism-related developments planned as part of Project AWAYSIS, is not only a great family vacation destination but it is also “greener” thanks to the City of Storm Lake’s participation in Commercial New Construction programs offered by Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy Company. Utility representatives presented the City with rebate checks totaling $71,900 at last night’s City Council meeting for participating in their programs and cataloging over $90,000 in annual energy savings.

“The City of Storm Lake was committed to make the King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort energy efficient right from the start because we have a responsibility to the taxpayers and to the environment,” said Patti Moore, Storm Lake City Administrator. “Early on in the design process, we met with Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy to figure out how to make the building energy efficient while also reducing our energy costs. We are very pleased that our work with them has given us such great results that will provide benefit for years to come.”

The Commercial New Construction programs offered by Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy offer customers free energy design assistance and cash incentives to build in energy efficiency before construction starts. From the start of the conceptual design phase; the customer, project design team, and utility personnel work together to consider design and equipment options to improve the overall energy efficiency of a building. A minimum energy savings of 5 percent greater than the State of Iowa building code is required.

Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy representatives helped to evaluate several energy conservation actions that the City of Storm Lake could implement at the King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort. During the design phase, the City selected a number of electrical, mechanical and architectural strategies that would result in significant energy cost-savings. Modeled energy conservation strategies utilized include roof and wall insulation; window glazing; over 23 lighting-related modifications; as well as efficient water heating, cooling and pumping processes and equipment.

“It’s a definite advantage that the City of Storm Lake was willing to commit to energy-efficiency on the front end so all the partners could plan for and incorporate energy-saving building materials and systems,” said Jan Bowles, Alliant Energy Strategic Account Manager. “We achieved much greater fiscal and environmental results because of that and it became a win for everyone involved.”

“We were pleased that the energy conservation investments implemented from the Commercial New Construction program generated a significant savings for the City of Storm Lake,” added Dan Hegarty, MidAmerican Energy Senior Energy Consultant and Key Account Manager. “The energy conservation investments they made will be paid back in less than a year and a half, while the cost-savings will go on for the life of the building.”

This is the first time ever that Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy have teamed up and both utilized their respective Commercial New Construction programs on a joint energy-efficiency project. Alliant Energy provides natural gas to the King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort and MidAmerican Energy is the electric provider.

Planning ahead and partnering with both Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy on the construction is estimated to save the City of Storm Lake more than 61,000 therms of natural gas and 518,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The project saves enough natural gas to heat about 75 homes, power another 50 residences and remove the equivalent annual greenhouse gas emissions of about 115 passenger vehicles.

Once the savings with the Commercial New Construction programs were officially verified, Alliant Energy awarded a $39,700 energy-efficiency rebate to the City while MidAmerican Energy provided a $32,200 incentive.

The Commercial New Construction program can be utilized for new commercial buildings and building renovation projects. It is available to Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy retail electric and/or gas customers located in their respective Iowa service territories. For more information on Alliant Energy’s Commercial New Construction program, visit www.alliantenergy.com/newconstruction or call 1-866-ALLIANT (1-866-255-4268). For more information on MidAmerican Energy’s Commercial New Construction program, visit www.midamericanenergy.com/cnc or call 1-800-292-6448.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and over 420,000 natural gas customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company’s primary focus. Interstate Power and Light, the company’s Iowa utility subsidiary, serves 539,000 electric and 239,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.alliantenergy.com.
About MidAmerican Energy Company

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is a global provider of energy services. Through its energy-related business platforms – PacifiCorp, MidAmerican Energy Company, CE Electric UK, Kern River Gas Transmission Company, Northern Natural Gas Company and CalEnergy – MidAmerican provides electric and natural gas service to more than 6.9 million customers worldwide. Information on MidAmerican is available on the Internet at www.midamerican.com.