A co-generation power plant slated for the Walnut Street area of campus has residents and students concerned. The proposed plant, which will use natural gas to generate steam and cooled water for UW-Madison and electricity for the Madison area, will produce pollution, but questions remain as to the extent of the environmental impact of those pollutants.
The plant--a collaboration between UW-Madison and Madison Gas and Electric--will emit particulates such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and mercury, according to Emily Hockman of Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group's Big Red Go Green Campaign.
\Any particulates in Lake Mendota will be relative to what's already there. Our overall emissions will be well within established levels,"" said Bob Stoffs MGE community services manager.
Co-generation plants are a popular solution for large campuses that require a lot of energy, according to Alan Fish, UW-Madison associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management. Currently, UW-Madison will not be able to produce enough steam by the year 2005.
The 150 megawatt plant will use waste from electricity production to create steam and cooled water for the UW, Stoffs said.
According to MGE, the new plant, which will have a maximum net efficiency up to 70 percent, will be one of the most efficient and cleanest power plants in the state.
However, Hockman says the plant will only average an estimated 12 percent efficiency, making it comparable to a traditional power plant.
Stoffs says it is rare for any co-generation plant to run at maximum efficiency, which depends on the amount of steam needed. ""As the need for steam increases, so will the efficiency,"" Stoffs said.
The plant will also draw approximately four million gallons of water from Lake Mendota daily, lowering the water levels throughout the Yahara River system, according to the Department of Natural Resources' lower Rock River water leader Ken Johnson.
The water loss would exacerbate already occasional low water levels,"" Johnson said. ""This is something to worry about.""
The DNR, which is scheduled to release its environmental impact statement on the plant in early March, will conditionally approve the plant so long as the water loss does not affect public interests, according to Johnson.
""The university doesn't want any water restrictions at all, but that just isn't going to happen,"" Johnson said. ""And their way of getting around it is pretty innovative.""
The co-generation plant will still use water from Lake Mendota. However, water flow will be redirected to allow excess to soak back into the aquifer, which will eventually replace the water used, according to Stoffs.
Hockman suggests using wind power--which would not require upsetting the water system or emit particulates--as an alternative to UW's long-term energy needs. Renewable biomass energy sources, such as wind, can produce up to 120 percent of Wisconsin's residential energy needs, Hockman said.
However, Stoffs said wind power cannot currently meet the needs of the campus and the community, as it is not conducive to producing steam.
About seven alternative plants were suggested in studies, according to Fish, all varying in size and power generation.
""We wanted to do something to meet and exceed the environmental standards, and we are confident that we have met those standards,"" Fish said.
