Working Position Statement on the Proposed Power Facility
by the ad hoc committee of the RNA Board

MG&E and UW jointly intend to build a 150-megawatt (MW) power and steam cogeneration facility on Walnut St. adjacent to Madison’s Regent Neighborhood, the UW playing fields and Lake Path. The Regent Neighborhood Association (RNA) formed an ad hoc committee to study the need for and impacts of this plant on the neighborhood. Based on a review of the permit application materials and consultations with professional engineers, the committee concludes that this project, as proposed, is incompatible with the neighborhood and the Madison urban area.
No Justification for Plant of this Magnitude
• Siting a ten-story 150MW power plant next to a residential neighborhood, not to mention hospitals, dormitories, schools and ecologically sensitive areas, is unprecedented.
• Cogeneration plants are common on college and university campuses, but are in the 5 to 20 MW range because the co-generated steam must be consumed locally.
• The plant’s large size precludes it from the efficiency of cogeneration. UW is the only consumer of steam and requires only 20 to 40 MW of capacity; the lion’s share of electrical generation, 110 to130 MW, will not occur in cogeneration mode.
• UW ‘s contribution to the capital costs is $80 million of scarce public funds. ($56 million of this is a 20- year loan to UW from MG&E at an interest rate of 14.5%.) Not yet known are capital costs associated with a new sewage treatment facility needed to maintain water balance in the Lake Mendota/Yahara watershed.
• Since UW is not the owner, it will have to purchase power from MG&E under an operating agreement whose terms are not yet known.
• The University will relinquish 4 _ acres of its valuable land to MG&E to produce power primarily for the private market.
Environmental Implications
• Air: The Regent Neighborhood will be directly exposed to significant levels of hazardous air pollution and smog forming compounds emitted by the facility. Over 90 percent of the area’s pollution “budget” for particulate emissions will be consumed. Neighborhood air quality will be degraded to nearly the maximum amount allowed under the Clean Air Act for particulate matter.
• Water: Up to four million gallons of water/day will be withdrawn from Lake Mendota for steam generation and cooling water. Most will be lost to evaporative emissions, stressing the Lake Mendota/Yahara River system. Stream flow models predict substantial reductions in the Yahara River during periods of drought.
• Noise: Similar to commercial jet engines in size and operation, the “aeroderivative” turbines employed in the facility operate at very high decibel levels. While MG&E has developed a plan to mitigate noise impacts though acoustic insulation, the facility will likely emit a level of background noise consistent with other large industrial facilities, and may at times be audible in all nearby neighborhoods.
In light of these findings, the committee concludes that, based on currently available information, UW could meet its energy needs with a much smaller facility, one that would not carry with it the significant detrimental impacts on the neighborhood and surrounding areas. Moreover, even if there is electrical demand elsewhere in Dane county and southern Wisconsin, generating that power in an urban residential area is totally inappropriate.

Frequently Asked Questions Document
click here

Be part of the discussions by emailing the webmaster with your interest.

home | about | events | news | local resources | business | contact