Iowa utility still weighing future nuclear plant

Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Barack Obama gestures during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama pauses during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., retreats to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats as he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., work to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Senate and House leaders rushed to assemble a last-ditch agreement to stave off middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, center, arrives at his office in the Capitol as he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Neveda, try to negotiate a legislative solution to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, arrives at his office in the Capitol as he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Neveda try to negotiate a legislative solution to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona walks between the Senate chamber and the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as Democrats and Republicans try to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., walks to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats as he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., work to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Senate and House leaders rushed to assemble a last-ditch agreement to stave off middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Barack Obama gestures during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama pauses during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., retreats to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats as he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., work to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Senate and House leaders rushed to assemble a last-ditch agreement to stave off middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, center, arrives at his office in the Capitol as he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Neveda, try to negotiate a legislative solution to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, arrives at his office in the Capitol as he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Neveda try to negotiate a legislative solution to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona walks between the Senate chamber and the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as Democrats and Republicans try to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., walks to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats as he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., work to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Senate and House leaders rushed to assemble a last-ditch agreement to stave off middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Iowa utility still weighing future nuclear plant

Print Page Updated: 10:51:08 PM, Sun 10 February 2013

DES MOINES, () — MidAmerican Energy is still considering building a new nuclear power plant as part of its long-term plans in .

The Des Moines Register reported (http://dmreg.co/Y33BIP ) that MidAmerican President William Fehrman told state regulators the utility may try to build a nuclear plant at some point.

MidAmerican is converting coal plants at Council Bluffs and Sioux City to natural gas and has invested heavily in 2,200 megawatts of wind power capacity.

But Fehrman said he wants to make sure the company has a mix of fuels, and he's not convinced that natural gas will remain as cheap as it is now.

"I'm agnostic on the fuel issue," Fehrman said. "But what we need is a diverse mix. It's not a good idea to put too many eggs in one basket."

Fehrman said the prospects for natural gas could change if restrictions are imposed on the hydraulic fracturing process used to extract much of the nation's natural gas.

The utility, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Omaha, Neb., based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., will provide more details of its plans this summer in a report to regulators.

MidAmerican already said last month that it would stop burning coal at seven power plants in Iowa and restrict emissions from two other coal plants.

"Coal's days are numbered here in Iowa," Pam Mackey Taylor, Iowa chapter energy chairwoman of the Sierra Club, said.

MidAmerican said it will stop burning coal in two boilers at Council Bluffs and two boilers in Sergeant Bluffs by April 2016, and is evaluating whether to convert the plants to natural gas before that 2016 deadline. The company said it also will convert three coal-fired boilers at its Bettendorf facility to natural gas.

MidAmerican unsuccessfully lobbied the Iowa Legislature over the past two years to pass a bill that would encourage development of nuclear power. Consumer advocacy groups and environmental risks opposed the idea.

Iowa has just one nuclear power plant, which went online in 1975.

MidAmerican is Iowa's largest utility. It serves 732,000 electric customers and 714,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.

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