WisBusiness: $105 million deal reached in Oak Creek power plant squabble

WisBusiness.com

The two sides in the three-year legal battle over the water intake system at the Oak Creek Power Plant have reached a $105 million agreement.

The deal provides $100 million for Lake Michigan protection projects over a 25 year period and take significant steps to address global warming.

“This settlement provides the long-term commitment of resources necessary to help find solutions to many of the issues Lake Michigan faces today,” said Mark Redsten, executive director at Clean Wisconsin, the state’s largest environmental advocacy organization.

Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club filed suit after the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a permit allowing the use of a once-through cooling system at the coal-fired power plant.

The organizations argued that once-through cooling did not represent the best available technology for cooling the plant and thus should not be permitted.

While acknowledging that the deal was part of a settlement, the utilities building the coal-fired facility put a positive spin on the outcome.

In a statement, We Energies Chairman Gale Klappa said his company, Madison Gas & Electric and Wisconsin Public Power were making a “significant new committment to environmental initiatives.

“They include reductions in greenhouse gases, investments in additional renewable energy reources, funding to protect Lake Michigan’s ecosystem and the retirement of older, less efficient generation.

“Coupled with other initiatives we have under way, our three utilities are taking a leadership role in providing cost effective energy, maintaining fuel diversity and protecting the environment,” he added.