Student senate hears case on coal plant

In the aftermath of a lawsuit against UW-Madison headed up by the Sierra Club, members of the UW-L community plan to follow suit and begin a campaign to convert the fifty year old multi-fuel power plant located on the east end of campus from a coal to biomass burner.

The plant in Madison had been operating for years against the Clean Air Act, raising question as to whether or not UW-L's plant would be subject to a similar lawsuit.

"It's one of four in the state currently operating that, according to this year, are also in violation of the clean air act," said UW-L's Director of Environmental Sustainability Missy Ruplinger.

The plant is currently powered by three separate boilers; one gas, one oil, and one coal. The present plan would replace only the coal portion of the plant in place of cleaner burning bio-fuel. This would include the incineration of woodchips, grass pellets, and other renewable biological materials.

The plant is owned by the state, not the university, so any financial burdens needed for work to be completed would be handled directly by Department of Administration, meaning UW-L would not have to pay for the remodel and would directly benefit from project if it is followed through.

To begin work, the state will first need to perform studies at the plant to determine whether or not biomass is a feasible solution. However biomass looks to be a very viable option for the plant, as it coincides with Governor Jim Doyle's executive order to increase the use of energy supplies like bio-fuels in the state and move towards energy independence.

Furthermore, the company holding the contract for coal with the state of Wisconsin extracts the coal used to power the plant through mountaintop extractions.

"It's a really nasty process where a lot of times, in the Appalachians, they just blow the tops off of mountains to extract coal which has some pretty obvious environmental repercussions," said Ruplinger.

While still in the beginning stages, the need for a more environmentally safe energy source has fueled the discussion to mirror what is currently being done with the Madison plant.

Senator Constance Sutter agreed with the proposed plan to begin work on this project. "This is not only environmentally responsible, it's fiscally responsible."

Converting the Madison boiler--one of five plants on Charter Street--is projected to cost between $200 and $300 million.