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Thirsty Power: Coal and gas will leave us high and dry
A new report from the Sierra Club, Thirsty Power: Coal and gas will leave us high and dry analyzes Wisconsin’s current power generation, the water needed for that power, and the potential impacts on Wisconsin’s water as Big Tech tries to build more data centers across the state. These data centers require enormous amounts of power– and in some cases are prompting entirely new gas plants that will compound water and energy use at peak times.
The report found, among other things, that:
- Wisconsin’s current dirty energy power fleet– including coal, gas, and nuclear plants– withdraws 1.35 trillion gallons of water annually. Meanwhile, solar and wind use so little water that the EIA doesn’t even track their usage. This is more than 7 times all of the municipalities in Wisconsin combined, and 18 times more than agricultural irrigation.
- Five new gas plants, known or assumed to be proposed for data centers, would use 142 million gallons of water a year on average – the equivalent of the annual drinking water for 778,082 people– and the majority of which would be needed during summer months when energy and water use has been strained by drought and heat. The proposed Red Oak Ridge gas plant in Kenosha would consume an estimated maximum of 266,400 gallons of water from the Great Lakes per day – the equivalent of daily consumption of nearly 3,248 average Americans. The proposed Foundry Ridge plant would use an estimated maximum of 55,152 gallons of groundwater from local wells per day.
- The five new proposed gas plants confirmed or suspected of being proposed solely to power data centers in Wisconsin equate to almost 4 gigawatts of power – or enough electricity to power approx. 3 million average homes. There are only 2.84 million homes in Wisconsin.
- The proposed Red Oak Ridge gas plant will become the second-largest gas plant in the state and use 266,400 gallons of water per day when it runs at full capacity. Plant owner Invenergy seeks to use Lake Michigan water, which will require special approval under the Great Lakes Compact.
Write your legislators: Support Right to Know Legislation
Lunch and Learn: Wakeboats
August 26th at 12pm. Join us to learn more about the impacts of wakeboats.
Lunch and Learn: Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic
September 9th at 12pm. Join us to learn more about Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic.
Why it Matters
Nearly half of Wisconsin’s waterways are federally listed as impaired due to pollution. This toxic water pollution is mainly perpetuated by factory farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Both factory farms and CAFOs generate a large amount of fecal waste, and unfortunately a large amount ends up in our water. Voice your support to protect our water and demand an end to the pollution!
Getting involved with this campaign today is vital to protect our water quality and supply!
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Earth Month Round Up- Part 1
Participate in the Wisconsin Conservation Congress “Spring Hearing”
