Alliant Energy To Expand Renewable Energy Generation In Iowa

Alliant Energy Corp (NYSE:LNT) received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to add 1,000 megawatts (MW) wind energy in Iowa by 2020. The company is planning to invest $1.8 billion to boost renewable energy, which can serve approximately 430,000 homes.

In 2016, Alliant Energy received approval to add up to 500 MW of wind energy. Currently, Alliant Energy owns and operates four wind firms in the state, while it purchased power from other generators. The company has the capability to serve clean energy to 215,000 homes, which is expected to double once the wind generation assets commence operation.

Rising Popularity of Wind Energy

In the last few years, growth in the U.S. renewable energy industry was influenced by initiatives from the state and federal governments. Energy generation from traditional sources is being replaced by alternative sources — solar, wind, hydro etc. Courtesy of advancements in technology, costs of energy production from renewable sources are lowering. Declining cost and emission-less production are the primary reasons for increasing popularity of renewable sources.

Per a recent report by Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), production from wind energy will increase in the near future. EIA expects wind energy to provide 6.4% and 6.9% of total utility-scale electricity generation in the United States in 2018 and 2019, respectively, up from 6.3% in 2017. With increasing asset installation, EIA expects wind to surpass hydro as the major source of renewable electricity generation.

Price Performance

Alliant Energy’s shares have rallied 8.5% in the last 12 months compared with 2.2% rise of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Alliant Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors can consider better-ranked stocks from the same space such as CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) , Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) and PNM Resources (NYSE:PNM) . All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CenterPoint delivered an average earnings surprise of 11.50% in the trailing four quarters. Expected EPS growth for the next five years is 5.88%.

Entergy delivered an average earnings surprise of 60.21% in the trailing four quarters. Expected EPS growth for next five years is 7%.

PNM Resources delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.16% in the trailing four quarters. Expected EPS growth for next five years is 5.36%.

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