Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org, 217-390-9394
MADISON, WI -- This afternoon, Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved a proposal by Dairyland Power and Minnesota Power to build the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin. If constructed, NTEC would cost customers an estimated $700 million. Arguments submitted in opposition pointed to expert studies showing that the gas plant is unnecessary and that utilities could more cheaply meet customer needs with common-sense energy efficiency and renewable, home-grown energy. In the fall a study published by Rocky Mountain Institute found 90 percent of 88 proposed gas plants, NTEC included, would end up costing more than if the utilities instead invested in wind, solar and energy efficiency.
Sierra Club and other groups raised concerns about NTEC’s environmental impacts, especially as the PSC decided not to consider the full scope of climate impacts associated with the plant. Others, including the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, also have opposed the proposed plant, raising concerns about its impact on local wetlands and the larger climate. In this process, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has raised concerns about impacts to groundwater supply due to the large amount of water needed to operate the plant. The DNR has not yet issued permits needed for the proposed plant.
In response, Sierra Club Campaign Representative Matt Earley released the following statement:
"Sierra Club is deeply disappointed with the PSC’s decision. Building a new fracked gas plant would be an environmental and economic disaster that would leave communities saddled with climate-disrupting emissions and a bad investment, both of which we’ll be paying for for decades. Utilities need to get it out of their head that gas is a cheaper and cleaner alternative to coal. It’s simply not true. From the point it is fracked out of the ground, piped across the country, and finally burned at power plants, gas has dire impacts on our air, water, and climate that is just as bad as other fossil fuels like coal."
“Building this plant locks Wisconsinites into decades of covering the cost of this plant and set back home-grown renewable development in Northern Wisconsin for years to come. We will continue to fight against NTEC and all new gas plants for the sake of our climate and the Wisconsin communities that would bear the burden of continued investment in fossil fuels.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.