Wisconsin's Energy Policy

Wisconsin’s energy policy “talks the talk” - but will Alliant Energy “walk the walk?”

Ryan Schryver

While national figures such as Al Gore, Tom Brokaw, Pat Robertson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been stealing recent headlines about reducing the human impact on global warming, Wisconsin has been garnering a fair amount of attention on the topic as well. Governor Doyle recently announced his Declaration of Energy Independence which set ambitious goals to work toward a cleaner future. In April, Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager made headlines by signing onto a lawsuit calling for the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Yet despite all of the recent talk about global warming and fossil fuel consumption, Wisconsin’s record hasn’t matched its rhetoric.

Over 70% of Wisconsin’s energy already comes from dirty coal that is imported from out-of-state. Despite this glaring dependence on increasingly expensive, out-dated, polluting coal plants, Wisconsin can’t quite seem to break its addiction to dirty coal. Major utilities in Wisconsin have been successful in seeking approval for new coal plants before new federal regulatory standards are implemented. The Public Service Commission has approved the construction of three old technology coal plants in the last few years; Alliant Energy is currently up to bat and is pushing for another outdated technology coal plant to be built in southwestern Wisconsin. Their plan to double the size of the Nelson Dewey facility on the banks of the Mississippi River will force us to become even more dependent on outdated coal technology and spit even more pollutants into Wisconsin’s Air.

As if bringing more dirty coal into Wisconsin was not scary enough, Alliant is not even using the most modern pollution controls available. Their expansion plans will more than double the output of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the facility. After remodeling and expanding the Nelson Dewey facility in Cassville, Wisconsin, Alliant’s plant will be spewing out more than 3.8 million tons of CO2; adding to Wisconsin’s already staggering 50 million tons of CO2 emissions from power plants continues to push us in the wrong direction.

The state of Wisconsin is talking the talk on global warming, but has yet to walk the walk. From 1995 to 2003 Wisconsin actually increased its output of CO2 by 8%, while states like Florida were able to reduce their emissions by as much as 34%. Wisconsin’s addiction to dirty coal power is causing us to fall behind states like Wyoming, Iowa, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, all of whom were able to decrease their CO2 emissions during the same time period.

By proposing a new coal plant, Alliant’s message is clear; they don’t care about global warming or its impacts on Wisconsin. Over the years, in addition to CO2, the Nelson Dewey facility has pumped thousands of tons of nitrous oxide (NOx) into Wisconsin’s air. Nitrous oxide and ozone both directly contribute to asthmatic conditions and acid rain. Wisconsinites already suffer through almost 12,000 asthma attacks a year; over 668 of those attacks are so severe they require emergency room visits. Is it really the time for Wisconsin to be investing in more dangerous and dirty coal? Alliant seems to be willing to force us to buy their coal until we literally choke on it.

Alliant’s disregard for global warming and the health of Wisconsinites is only a small example of Alliant putting its own profits ahead of the interests of ratepayers. Wisconsinites are currently sending $8 billion of their hard-earned dollars out of the state to import fossil fuels like coal. The costs of Alliant’s dirty plant are already putting the pinch on ratepayer’s wallets. They have already asked ratepayers to pick up the tab for their dirty investments to the tune of $15 million dollars for expensive lawyers and pre-construction planning. By the time Alliant is done paying for their new coal plant, they will have spent over a billion dollars of their customer’s hard-earned cash to build a plant that will be outdated the day it opens. Why should Wisconsinites be asked to pay such exorbitant sums for Alliant’s pollution?

The days of being able to burn dirty coal are quickly drawing to an end. An aging and diminishing rail system that has not added tracks or other infrastructure for decades is a liability when it comes to consistent delivery. Wisconsin utilities incurred nearly $50 million in extra costs last year because of interruptions in coal delivery. These interruptions will only get worse as the volume of coal needing to be transported begins to exceed the capacity of our archaic rail system.

If Wisconsin is going to talk tough on global warming and energy independence, we need to get tough now. There is no longer any excuse for building old-technology, coal-burning power plants. Any one of these plants built today will be polluting for at least the next fifty years, long past even the most conservative deadlines for reducing the amount of carbon being churned into the atmosphere enough to slow global warming.

It’s time to say enough is enough! Wisconsin needs to back up the rhetoric and begin to hold our utilities accountable. It is completely irresponsible for Alliant Energy to build another dirty, outdated, billion dollar coal plant that harms our children’s health, when cleaner, cheaper and more efficient alternatives are available.

We say we’ve had enough, but are we truly ready to back that up? We need YOUR help to make sure the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin not only hears our message but acts on it as well. Take action by visiting our website or contacting Ryan Schryver, Clean Wisconsin’s Grassroots Organizer at (608) 251-7020 extension 25 or at rschryver@cleanwisconsin.org.