MidAmerican gives details on Orient energy center project

Officials with MidAmerican Energy answered questions from interested parties and gave information to the public about a project that will add an energy center south of Orient near the Adair-Union county line over the next couple of years.

The $600 million energy center, which will produce up to 520 megawatts of power from two simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbines near the corner of Adair-Union Avenue and Orange Avenue, will have a footprint of 38 acres and is expected to have 40 years of useful life. To generate electricity, a gas turbine heats a mixture of air and fuel at very high temperatures, causing the turbine blades to spin. The spinning turbine drives a generator that converts the energy into electricity.

MidAmerican Energy has owned this land for years, which has optimal access to a natural gas pipeline and a transmission line the company already owns, which eliminates any need for eminent domain to be used. The easements for the transmission line were also explained and the planned turbines will tie into that line.

The permitting process for the energy center is estimated to continue through next February with construction starting next spring. There will be large deliveries expected as part of constrution from spring 2026 through winter 2027. The plant would become operational in spring 2028.

Officials said the center will only run about 10% of the time, mainly during times of peak power demand, like extreme cold or extreme heat.

A question and answer time was held after MidAmerican’s presentation. Questions asked were about landscaping and fencing around the planned facility, the effects the cooling system will have on the environment, the property tax implications the center will have, whether local labor will be used and what the center will sound like when it is operating.

Planners said a security fence is planned for around the facility and trees are being considered to help reduce noise for neighbors.

There should not be any noticeable steam from a 130-feet smoke stack.

The center’s property tax potential is based on generation, but officials estimate $150,000 per year.

MidAmerican officials likened the sound of an operating gas-fired combustion turbine to a vacuum machine, but they reminded the crowd that the turbines would only operate about 10% of the time.

The project is expected to employ approximately 400 people during construction and five when complete. Those five could make a salary range of $100,000-$125,000 annually.

The Iowa Utilities Commission is responsible for ensuring this project is properly sited and necessary to serve energy demand. The regulatory process includes air quality permitting to ensure the proposed facility does not harm the environment. The Iowa DNR will review the permit application and establish requirements that ensure the proposed project will not cause an exceedance of the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards that are established by the EPA.