IOWA CITY, Iowa (The Gazette) — A plan developed by MidAmerican Energy and Iowa City calls for using a portion of a city park for MidAmerican’s first solar energy project. The Iowa City Council has scheduled a public hearing March 24 on leasing nearly 19 acres at Waterworks Prairie Park to MidAmerican, which would install about 10,000 solar panels. The system is expected to generate three megawatts of energy that would be tied into the electric grid.

The lease would run for 30 years and could be extended. The city would receive an annual payment starting at $13,440, and it would increase by 3% annually.