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News

Data varies on power plant

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
A proposed electrical power plant in the village of Plover will cause less air pollution than the heating plant at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, but probably won't serve customers in Portage County.

Those are some aspects of the proposal surfacing as Southern Energy Inc., which has proposed constructing the plant, prepares to hold an informational meeting scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at Roosevelt Elementary School.

Larry Beck, director of facility services at UW-SP, said the heating plant emits more air pollution than the proposed plant because it is a coal-fueled plant. The proposed Plover plant would be fueled by natural gas.

Beck said the heating plant is under a 1960s license, allowing it to exceed modern pollution standards, and its emissions are directly related to the quality of the coal the state orders for the plant. "If we were burning gas, it would be less," he said about the emissions.

Southern Energy is proposing a plant with two turbine generators to provide 590 megawatts of power, plus four smaller turbine generators to provide an additional 85 megawatts of power during peak demand periods, a total capacity of 930 megawatts.

Tom Meinz, vice president of public affairs for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPSC), which provides electrical power to most of Portage County, said this week that Southern Energy has not approached WPSC relative to purchasing any of the power generated from a Plover plant.

Meinz said WPSC purchases about 10 percent of its electricity at any given time, depending on WPSC units that are down for maintenance. "Normally, we purchase from utilities," he said.

"If a private company (such as Southern Energy) has something to offer that is competitive, we might be interested." Usually, he added, WPSC purchases power from utilities in North Dakota, Minnesota or Chicago.

The proposed 930 megawatts of power would be capable of serving nearly one million people, on the basis that one megawatt provides a days worth of electricity for about 800 to 1,000 people.

As another example, Meinz said hospitals generally have emergency generators to provide one to three megawatts of power if power is interrupted.

Financially, Southern Energy says it will provide the village with up to $750,000 per year and the county $375,000 per year, if the plant is in the village. If the plant is in the town of Plover, an alternate site, the town would get up to $375,000 per year and the county $750,000 per year.

Those payments would be in lieu of taxes, since the property wouldn't be subject to property taxes because it is a manufacturing operation, exempt from property taxes. Thus, local schools wouldn't receive any revenues from the plant.

While the emissions will be less than the UW-SP heating plant, a Seattle Times article on July 23, 2000, said a proposed plant of 660 megawatts in the state of Washington would produce 2.4 million tons per year of carbon dioxide, the "greenhouse gas" that is primarily responsible for global warming. "That is equivalent to the carbon-dioxide emissions from nearly 500,000 cars driving about 10,000 miles per year," the article said.

An existing 24-inch buried gas main owned by American National Resources Corp. (ANR) is about 12 miles away and would require a connection to the plant. Electric transmission lines are a short distance away for connection, and Meinz said the line would probably require some reconstruction to handle the additional megawatts.

To convert the waste heat from burning of natural gas into electricity water is used, and the plant would draw an average of 4 million gallons of water from the Wisconsin River daily. The draw is about one-half of one percent of the average low flow of the river, and half of it, 2 million gallons, would be returned to the river, warmer and with a more concentrated mineral content. The rest evaporates in the cooling process.

Regarding noise, the generating equipment will be enclosed, and Southern Energy said it will use sound reduction methods such as berms and plantings.



	Data varies on power plant By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette A proposed electrical power plant in the village of Plover will cause less air pollution than the heating plant at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, but probably won't serve customers in Portage County. Those are some aspects of the proposal surfacing as Southern Energy Inc., which has proposed constructing the plant, prepares to hold an informational meeting scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at Roosevelt Elementary School. Larry Beck, director of facility services at UW-SP, said the heating plant emits more air pollution than the proposed plant because it is a coal-fueled plant. The proposed Plover plant would be fueled by natural gas. Beck said the heating plant is under a 1960s license, allowing it to exceed modern pollution standards, and its emissions are directly related to the quality of the coal the state orders for the plant. "If we were burning gas, it would be less," he said about the emissions. Southern Energy is proposing a plant with two turbine generators to provide 590 megawatts of power, plus four smaller turbine generators to provide an additional 85 megawatts of power during peak demand periods, a total capacity of 930 megawatts. Tom Meinz, vice president of public affairs for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPSC), which provides electrical power to most of Portage County, said this week that Southern Energy has not approached WPSC relative to purchasing any of the power generated from a Plover plant. Meinz said WPSC purchases about 10 percent of its electricity at any given time, depending on WPSC units that are down for maintenance. "Normally, we purchase from utilities," he said. "If a private company (such as Southern Energy) has something to offer that is competitive, we might be interested." Usually, he added, WPSC purchases power from utilities in North Dakota, Minnesota or Chicago. The proposed 930 megawatts of power would be capable of serving nearly one million people, on the basis that one megawatt provides a days worth of electricity for about 800 to 1,000 people. As another example, Meinz said hospitals generally have emergency generators to provide one to three megawatts of power if power is interrupted. Financially, Southern Energy says it will provide the village with up to $750,000 per year and the county $375,000 per year, if the plant is in the village. If the plant is in the town of Plover, an alternate site, the town would get up to $375,000 per year and the county $750,000 per year. Those payments would be in lieu of taxes, since the property wouldn't be subject to property taxes because it is a manufacturing operation, exempt from property taxes. Thus, local schools wouldn't receive any revenues from the plant. While the emissions will be less than the UW-SP heating plant, a Seattle Times article on July 23, 2000, said a proposed plant of 660 megawatts in the state of Washington would produce 2.4 million tons per year of carbon dioxide, the "greenhouse gas" that is primarily responsible for global warming. "That is equivalent to the carbon-dioxide emissions from nearly 500,000 cars driving about 10,000 miles per year," the article said. An existing 24-inch buried gas main owned by American National Resources Corp. (ANR) is about 12 miles away and would require a connection to the plant. Electric transmission lines are a short distance away for connection, and Meinz said the line would probably require some reconstruction to handle the additional megawatts. To convert the waste heat from burning of natural gas into electricity water is used, and the plant would draw an average of 4 million gallons of water from the Wisconsin River daily. The draw is about one-half of one percent of the average low flow of the river, and half of it, 2 million gallons, would be returned to the river, warmer and with a more concentrated mineral content. The rest evaporates in the cooling process. Regarding noise, the generating equipment will be enclosed, and Southern Energy said it will use sound reduction methods such as berms and plantings.