Under pressure, coal utility will retire two units

Turbomachinery International, Sep/Oct 2008

A three-year legal battle over the water intake structure at the Elm Road Generating Station (ERGS) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, ended late last week with a settlement agreement that will provide $100 million for Lake Michigan protection projects over a 25-year period and retire two existing coal-fired units.

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy group, and the Sierra Club filed suit after the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a permit allowing the use of a once-through cooling system at the coal-fired power plant. The organizations held that once-through cooling did not represent the best available technology for cooling the plant and thus should not be permitted.

According to the terms of the settlement agreement, Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club agree to withdraw their legal challenges to the DNR permit, and, in return:

* We Energies, owner of the plant, will retire two coal-fired units in Presque Isle, Michigan

* We Energies will ask the Public Service Commission for approval to construct 50 MW biomass power in Wisconsin

* The ERGS owners will purchase or construct 15 megawatts of solar generation by January, 2015.