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PSCW public hearings conclude with renewable fuels commitment part of public record
MADISON, WI – October 2, 2008 – Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), an Alliant Energy company, enjoyed strong support and restated its commitment to biofuels earlier this week as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) held its public hearings on the company’s proposed expansion of its Nelson Dewey generating plant in Cassville, Wisconsin.
The public hearings held Monday, in Cassville, and Tuesday, in Portage , drew hundreds of supporters that voiced their approval of the project. WPL is proposing that the new plant utilize 20 percent biofuels like switchgrass, corn stalks and waste wood along with coal. It is the largest proposed use of renewable fuels that the PSCW has ever considered.
“ Wisconsin is the place, biomass is the fuel and now is the time to take action,” said Barbara Swan, President – WPL. “We are overwhelmed with the tremendous outpouring of support that this state’s farmers, union labor, business community and residents have shown for utilizing a greener source of fuel.”
Public hearings wrapped up Tuesday evening in Portage after an overwhelming show of support in the Nelson Dewey plant’s hometown of Cassville on Monday (see photos at http://www.alliantenergy.com/ned).
“The time has arrived to replace the empty rhetoric of ‘no more coal’ and replace it with the promise of renewable fuels grown right here in southwestern Wisconsin and the economic development and jobs that come with it,” said Louis Okey, Cassville Village President.
The Nelson Dewey 300-megawatt expansion will not only develop new markets for agricultural products, it will also expand transmission options to import greener wind power from the west.
The PSC is expected to its final written ruling on the proposed expansion in mid-December. Upon approval, construction is expected to be complete in 2013.
Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and over 400,000 natural gas customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company’s primary focus. Wisconsin Power and Light, the company’s Wisconsin utility subsidiary, serves approximately 450,000 electric and 175,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.alliantenergy.com.
