by jboullion | May 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A proposed We Energies power plant at the Domtar Corp. paper mill in Rothschild is still too expensive for the utility’s customers and should be rejected, critics of the plant said Thursday.
Groups that have raised questions or opposed the plant made filings with the state Public Service Commission Thursday, a day before regulators are scheduled to discuss the power company’s bid to build a $255 million power plant that would burn wood.
The filings came two days after We Energies and Domtar revised the financial terms of the deal to raise Domtar Corp.’s financial stake in the project.
State regulators last week raised concerns about the project’s price tag, but gave the utility a chance to revise the financial terms of the deal this week.
The changes announced by Domtar and We Energies weren’t sufficient to address the concerns raised by the PSC, said the Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group.
“It is unacceptable for (We Energies) ratepayers to bear the brunt of the costs and all of the risks for an uneconomical and unnecessary project for which they receive little to no benefits,” wrote Kira Loehr, CUB’s lawyer, in the filing.
by jboullion | May 4, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Domtar Corp. agreed to boost its financial stake in a proposed biomass power plant, as We Energies and the paper company revised the terms of their deal Tuesday to satisfy regulators’ concerns.
The three-member state Public Service Commission last week raised objections about the cost of the $255 million biomass power plant that We Energies is seeking to build at the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild, just south of Wausau. The plant would burn wood chips and other forms of biomass to produce electricity for the energy grid and steam for the adjacent paper mill.
The PSC, however, said the plant’s price tag was too expensive and was structured in such a way that too much of the cost would be borne by customers of the Milwaukee-based utility. Commissioners directed Domtar and We Energies to revise their proposal.
The filing by the companies Tuesday will be reviewed by the plant’s critics, including the Wisconsin Citizens’ Utility Board. The groups raising concerns about the project have until Thursday to respond to the revised financing plan.
Domtar on Tuesday said it would boost its contribution by $22 million, to $47 million, a move that increases the price of the steam Domtar would buy for the paper mill and reduce the cost for We Energies customers.
Both companies stressed the economic development opportunity from the project, linked to construction and paper mill jobs.
by jboullion | Apr 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Brian E. Clark on WisBusiness.com:
Citing what they described as high costs, members of the three-person Public Service Commission said We Energies and the Domtar Corp. paper company will have to bear more costs for a proposed biomass plant in Rothschild that would produce both electricity and steam.
The $250 million plant will use waste wood and sawdust to produce 50 megawatts of electricity, as well as steam for Domtar’s papermaking operations.
Phil Montgomery, the new PSC chairman, said at Thursday’s PSC meeting that the state currently has adequate power supply reserves, but that We Energies needs to build the plant to meet state mandates that 10 percent of its power be produced from renewable resources by 2015.
Montgomery, a former legislator who chaired the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities, said he continues to support the renewable standard.
“But I don’t think anyone in the Legislature thought we would be experiencing this economic downturn we’re in now,” he added, noting that he hopes We Energies and Domtar can reduce costs to electricity ratepayers.
Commissioner Eric Callisto said he has trouble with the overall economics of the plan and how it has been structured between We Energies and Domtar.
Callisto said he is concerned with everything from the financing and operating costs to the rates that consumers will have to pay for the power generated by the plant. . . .
Commissioner Lauren Azar said she believes biomass may become Wisconsin’s best energy resource, but she said the Rothschild plant construction cost is approaching $5,800 per kilowatt hour, which she called “unacceptably high” and almost on par with the price tag for building a nuclear power facility.
Wind turbine construction costs are about half that figure, she said. But recent actions by the Legislature and governor over wind farm-siting rules have caused at least two companies to abandon projects because of regulatory uncertainty, she said.
by jboullion | Apr 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Frm an article by Ron Seely in the Wisconsin State Journal:
A small wood burner helps fire the boiler
to heat the Barron, Wiscosnin schools.
From smoking piles of wood chips in the countryside to dust on kitchen counters in Cassville, the difficulties posed by the conversion of the E.J. Stoneman Electrical Station in Grant County to burn wood instead of coal have challenged both village residents and plant engineers.
But the adventures and misadventures of the conversion stand as an informative and cautionary tale of what may lie ahead as Wisconsin and the rest of the country struggle to find alternative renewable fuels to help wean us from dirtier, nonrenewable combustibles such as coal.
Even so, Rich Nelson, plant manager, is more convinced than ever that the plant, one of just a few in the country that burn only wood, represents a future that will see much less dependence on nonrenewable fuels. After all, he said, it makes perfect sense to be turning demolished buildings in Milwaukee into power for more than 28,000 homes in the Cassville area.
“If we weren’t here,” Nelson said, “then all that construction material would be going into a landfill.”
The 60-year-old power plant, which rises next to the Mississippi River, was converted last year by Michigan’s DTE Energies, which has owned the plant since 2008. Its two boilers are now heated by wood rather than coal, a process known in the trade as “repowering.”
The transition has had its rough spots. Nearby residents have complained about problems such as ash on their window sills and kitchen counters, and wood chip piles stored in quarries that spontaneously combust and fill scenic valleys with blue haze.
“It’s frustrating sometimes,” Nelson said. “I think the expectation was that we’d push a button and then everybody’s feet would be up on their desks and we’d be making power.”
by jboullion | Apr 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kathleen Footy in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ approval Monday of a proposed biomass energy plant leaves just one obstacle in the way of the $250 million project.
The state’s Public Service Commission, including new Chairman Phil Montgomery, is a three-member panel charged with regulating the state’s utilities and vetting new construction projects. The PSC will rule on whether the power plant — a joint project of Milwaukee utility We Energies and Domtar Paper — would serve customers and residents well.
PSC regulators can schedule a meeting on the proposal at any time. The commissioners typically discuss cases at an open meeting in Madison, then finalize an order to be voted on at their next meeting.
Opponents of the Rothschild project, who feel out of options since comments to the PSC are closed, plan to push for the DNR to create a safeguard against emissions from the plant.
Rob Hughes, a member of the citizens group Saving Our Air Resources, or SOAR, said he was disappointed by the DNR’s decision. Hughes said the DNR should move its air-quality monitoring station in Marathon County from Lake DuBay to Rothschild to guarantee residents’ safety.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal since they say the air will be safe,” Hughes said. “That would reassure the community that ‘Yes, the air is safe.’ I think that’s the best we can hope for.”
