UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley held an energy policy forum Monday to assert the necessity of the new power plant funded by the university and Madison Gas & Electric.
He cited the current state of the power plant negotiations-a new power plant is needed, better power transmission is needed and environmental problems are inevitable.
\Electricity is the most critical infrastructure we rely on,"" Wiley said in reference to the burgeoning campus population.
However, Wiley did not deny the new plant would raise environmental issues.
""It's not a question of whether we can have adequate electricity or clean air. We need both,"" Wiley said.
Chamond Liu, member of Friends of Responsible Energy, said he was concerned with the levels of particulate matter in the air, resulting from current power plants as well as the pending power plant.
UW-Madison junior Joel Giffin, member of Associated Students of Madison Energy Campaign and FORE, said particulate matter is already close to the maximum level and no matter how clean the plant will be, it will still give off large amounts of particulate matter.
""It seems to me that economics trumps [environmental issues] more than it should,"" said UW-Madison junior Ian Brunswick, campus energy policy coordinator.
Speaker Paul Meier, of Meier Engineering Research LLC, said the new plant will have state-of-the-art emission controls. Because of reduced emissions, Meier said, the public can expect to see new pollution control policies implemented on existing power plants.
""He showed concretely that making new plants very clean is very effective in controlling emissions,"" Brunswick said.
According to Meier, new energy-efficient technology will reduce overall energy consumption and increase Wisconsin's energy reserve margin.
Currently, the energy reserve margin, or excess power supply, is at 18 percent. With energy consumption increasing 2 to 3 percent a year, there is concern that eventually no reserve will be left. The energy reserve is particularly important to have on hot summer days when energy use is at its peak demand.
""Our [current] power plants are providing the amount of energy we need on a second-by-second basis,"" Meier said.
Burneatta Bridge, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, said the short-term energy outlook is good and that Wisconsin has a history of reliable energy and reasonable rates.
Bridge cited the efficiency of nuclear energy in comparison to the problems, such as radioactive waste and unreliability, of alternative energy sources.
Brunswick said he thought the emphasis on using renewable resources was very important. He added that everybody at the forum was aware of the concerns and issues-the differences of opinion lie in the when, where and how of addressing those issues.
