Yeah, I looked it up and here is what the mix for the Iowa side of the metro Quad Cities is (note, still DOMINATED by renewables):
The
Quad Cities Generating Station Connection
The
Quad Cities Generating Station in Cordova, Illinois, sits just across the Mississippi River. It physically supplies a massive amount of power directly into the local grid serving the Quad Cities region on both sides of the river. [
1,
2]
- Iowa Ownership: MidAmerican Energy (the primary utility for Davenport and much of Iowa) actually owns 25% of the Quad Cities nuclear plant. The other 75% is owned and operated by Constellation Energy. [1, 2, 3]
- Where the Electrons Go: Because electricity flows along the path of least resistance, a significant portion of the nuclear power generated at Cordova physically crosses the river to light up homes and businesses right there in Davenport.
Why the Official State Data Says "0%"
When organizations like the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) publish state profiles, they use a strict
geographic accounting method:
- They only count power plants physically located within Iowa's borders.
- Because the Cordova plant is on the Illinois side of the river, 100% of its generation is credited to Illinois's state total, despite MidAmerican's ownership slice and the local consumption. [1]
- Iowa's last remaining in-state nuclear facility, the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Cedar Rapids, closed in 2020, dropping the in-state nuclear ledger to zero.
Your Actual Power Mix in Davenport
If you look at the electricity MidAmerican Energy delivers to its customers, they utilize a massive amount of wind from their sprawling wind farms across Iowa to technically cover customer demand on an annualized basis. However, to keep the grid stable 24/7 when the wind isn't blowing, they rely heavily on their 25% share of the
Cordova nuclear plant alongside regional fossil fuels. [
1,
2,
3]