UW-Madison is on its way to a more sustainable future with the groundbreaking of a brand new biomass plant on Charter Street Monday that aims to wean the university off coal power.
""Today, we are breaking ground on the Charter Street biomass plant and taking a major step forward to make this goal a reality,"" Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. ""The Charter Street plant will turn a waste stream into clean energy; it will keep energy dollars in our communities; and it will help clean our air and water.""
Brett Hulsey, a Dane County Supervisor and biomass consultant, called the new plant ""a wonderful thing.""
According to Hulsey, the plant will be able to run on natural gas and biomass including grasses, and could cut emissions by 30-90 percent compared to the 50-year-old coal plant currently in use.
The whole project will cost $276 million, including $251 million for the plant itself and $25 million to convert the Capitol Heat and Power Plant to natural gas, according to Doyle. The plant will be functional in 2013.
Hulsey said the plant will help create at least 2,500 jobs.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said the benefits of the plant extend beyond those of clean energy.
""Today's groundbreaking is not only a victory for clean air and clean energy, but it also presents an enormous economic opportunity for Dane County farmers and helps our collaborative work to clean up our lakes,"" Falk said.
