Alliant Energy Corp.’s West Riverside Energy Center has started up a combined-cycle natural gas generating station (CCGT) for its Wisconsinite customers.

Construction began on the 730 MW generating station near Beloit during the spring of 2017. The completed facility cost $660 million, but it is projected to increase local utility shared revenues by more than $3 million annually.

The station serves as a 24/7 resource as a complement generating source to Alliant’s growing number of solar and wind facilities. An integrated solar facility is to be added to the gas-fired power station, and the solar garden project is expected to break ground soon. Madison, WI-based Alliant expects the project will be completed by the end of the year, providing an additional 6 MW to offset auxiliary power at the n gas plant.

The West Riverside facility, once completed with the integrated solar farm, is expected to emit less than half the carbon dioxide of coal-fired facilities. It would also emit two-thirds less nitrogen, and 99% less sulfur and mercury than coal-fired plants, according to Alliant.

The CCGT project created more than 1,000 jobs during the course of construction. The center’s project team included AECOM as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, and HDR as the owner’s engineer. Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative, Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative, and Rock Energy Cooperative serve as co-owners of the facility.