There was a groundbreaking in Council Bluffs this morning at the site of what eventually will be Iowa’s largest coal-fired energy generation plant. Dignitaries at the groundbreaking included Iowa’s Governor and Warren Buffett, the world renowned investor who’s head of the company that owns MidAmerican Energy. The electric generating facility will be MidAmerican’s largest coal plant. The plant will employ 70 when it’s up and running in 2007. It will be equipped with special boilers that create steam at higher temperatures and pressures than traditional boilers. Managers say the new-fangled boilers will be more efficient, and generate less pollution. MidAmerican already has three power-generating plants near the site in Council Bluffs. MidAmerican executives say Iowa’s recently-changed laws and taxes for utilities are sparking the development.
