Alliant Energy expects 1GW of new data center contracts within six months

Alliant Energy expects to sign 1GW of new electric supply contracts with data center providers within the next six months. The Wisconsin-based regulated utility announced the target on its Q3 earnings call. The figure adds to 3.4GW of demand already contracted with the sector, including agreements with Google, Meta, and QTS.

Three of the utility's five contracted data center projects are under construction. Google has taken transmission service in Iowa. QTS expects to complete commissioning of two buildings in Cedar Rapids this quarter.

What does the pipeline mean for demand growth?

CEO and president Lisa Barton tied the deals directly to the company's long-term forecast. "Data centers support our expectation for greater than 60 percent contracted demand growth by 2031," she said on the call.

That growth is not limited to hyperscale operators. Barton said interest spans the full spectrum of the market. "We are also seeing progress across a diversified set of load opportunities beyond large data centers, including edge data centers and manufacturing expansion in Wisconsin and Iowa," she said.

The demand pipeline raises a practical question: can the utility actually secure enough generation? Barton argued it can. The company has "an extreme level of confidence in our ability to secure the generation that we need," she said.

She also addressed the local politics of data center development. "Data centers are really engaging with the communities, and we're really pleased with that. There's a greater level of transparency," Barton said.

What changes in the capital plan?

The surge in contracted demand has pushed Alliant to rework its investment program. The company raised its capital spending plan for 2027-2030 by 19 percent. The new total is $15.9 billion. It also lifted its expected investment growth rate for that planning window from 12 percent to 13 percent.

The figures mark a substantial acceleration for a utility of Alliant's size. The company serves up to 1.5 million customers through two regulated subsidiaries. Interstate Power and Light Company serves Iowa. Wisconsin Power and Light Company serves Wisconsin. Alliant is headquartered in Madison.

How does the DOE loan factor in?

A federal loan sits behind part of the spending plan. Alliant received a $5.1 billion loan from the Department of Energy. The utility estimates the loan will deliver up to $1.2 billion in cumulative customer savings over the life of the 30-year loans.

That saving matters for rate cases. Lower financing costs on new generation reduce the burden that lands on customer bills when the capacity comes online. The loan effectively subsidizes the buildout that data center demand is driving.

Why watch the next two quarters?

The 1GW target gives the story a hard deadline. If Alliant signs the contracts on schedule, its data center book would rise from 3.4GW to roughly 4.4GW of contracted demand within six months. The commissioning of the two QTS buildings in Cedar Rapids this quarter offers a near-term checkpoint on whether construction is keeping pace with contracting.

The broader signal is regional. Wisconsin and Iowa are not traditional hyperscale markets. A regulated utility there committing $15.9 billion over four years, with data centers as the anchor demand, shows how far the buildout has spread beyond the major coastal hubs. Barton's comments on edge data centers and manufacturing expansion suggest the utility sees the load base broadening, not concentrating in a handful of hyperscale campuses.