Potential federal legislation regulating CO2 emissions taken into account
East Dubuque, IL— Plans were suspended earlier this week to build a coal fired fuel conversion plant citing
uncertainty over the cost of dealing with global warming emissions, according to Rentech company officials.
Noting that the project’s original cost had not included technology to deal with global warming emissions,
company officials pointed to potential federal greenhouse gas legislation and the impact it would have on the
facility’s price tag.
Alliant Energy has submitted an application to Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission (PSC) proposing to
build a coal-fired power plant at Cassville, WI, 30 miles north of the Rentek facility. Construction plans
submitted to the PSC for Alliant’s proposed power plant also do not include technology costs for capturing the
global warming emissions.
“Alliant Energy continues to charge ahead with plans to build a coal-fired power plant, ignoring the financial
gamble that they are taking by not addressing the plant’s global warming pollution,” stated Mark Redsten,
Executive Director at Clean Wisconsin. “The plant’s escalating construction costs – which have already
increased twice in just the pre-approval phase – combined with the impending costs of dealing with global
warming emissions, make this proposal a bad energy investment for Wisconsin.”
In terms of global warming emissions, Alliant has selected the worst technology available for coal-fired power
plants. The boiler design chosen by Alliant for the proposed Cassville plant would emit large amounts of
nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas 298 times more potent than carbon dioxide – giving the plant a global warming
emission rate higher than that of other coal plants in Wisconsin that are 50 years old.
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Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by
being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and corporations accountable. Founded in 1970 as
Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced,
and educates citizens and businesses. Phone: 608-251-7020, Fax: 608-251-1655, Email: [email protected], Website:
www.cleanwisconsin.org.
