Wis. governor says no to coal for power plants

Aug 1, 2008 - Scott Bauer -The Associated Press

Gov. Jim Doyle's announcement Friday that Wisconsin will stop using coal at its power plants in Madison was hailed as a pivotal victory for the environment that makes the state a leader in seeking clean energy alternatives.

"This is great news," said Jennifer Feyerherm, director of the Sierra Club's clean energy campaign. The national environmental group that sued the state last year over pollution violations at one of its plants.

"The writing is on the wall for coal in Wisconsin," Feyerherm said.

She said the decision will mean a 40 percent reduction in emissions of sulfur dioxide, a primary component of soot pollution, in the county where Madison is located.

Doyle said the state needs to lead by example by moving to eliminate coal use at its three plants in Madison.

The announcement means that a 1950s-era plant and one built in 1902 will have to be shut down and refitted to burn something other than coal, Feyerherm said.

The state and university are examining the options, including cost and impact on the environment, to see whether the plants can be retooled or need to be shut down, said Linda Barth, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration.

The approval process for whichever option is selected starts with the filing of a Clean Air Act permit in November, she said.

"This is truly welcome, significant news and is another important step to ensuring Dane County citizens are able to breathe clean, safe air," said county executive Kathleen Falk. "This is the right thing for our public health."

Thirteen alternatives to burning coal are outlined in a state study that was released Friday. Another option outlined is creating a new heating plant. The study was ordered as part of a settlement reached with the Sierra Club over the lawsuit it filed.

A federal judge agreed that the Charter Street Power Plant in Madison had been operating illegally for years because state officials upgraded the plant without obtaining the permits required and therefore avoided installing pollution controls.

Under the settlement, state officials agreed to immediately reduce coal use at the plant by 15 percent and do the study.

State and university officials are reviewing the study to develop a plan for heating and cooling the state and university buildings in Madison with a goal of including the changes in the budget early next year, the governor's office said.

A separately formed task force Doyle created to study global warming also called for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 2005 levels within the next six years, and reducing that by another 75 percent by 2050.

Moving away from coal at the power plants is consistent with that recommendation, Doyle's office said.

A 2006 law requires state agencies and university campuses to purchase 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by the end of 2011.

The lawsuit settlement also requires the state to review all maintenance projects at 12 coal-fired plants dating back to 1995 to see whether they complied with all state and federal regulations. The state would be required to fix any violations by instituting pollution controls, using different energy sources or replacing the plants by December 2009.

The state operates 32 heating plants but only 15 use coal, most in conjunction with natural gas, Barth said. The Charter Street plant in Madison accounts for 60 percent of the coal used in state-owned heating plants, she said.