MGE wants to buy stake in gas plant, says fuel transition will speed carbon reduction | Environmental science
Madison Gas and Electric said it was accelerating its plan to cut carbon emissions and proposed new investments in fossil fuel production.
The company announced Monday that it has an agreement to buy up to 50 megawatts of capacity from a natural gas plant in Beloit, which it says is needed to replace a planned coal-fired plant. retire early.
The move, combined with investment in clean energy sources, will allow cut basic carbon emissions by 80% by the end of this decade.
“We are committed to doing everything we can today to advance decarbonization strategies as quickly and cost-effectively as possible while maintaining top-rated electrical reliability and the responsibility of the public. us to the people we serve,” MGE President and CEO Jeff Keebler said in a statement.
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MADISON GAS AND ELECTRICITY
However, environmentalists and policy experts say new investments in fossil fuels do not align with the generally accepted steps needed to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Greg Nemet, a UW-Madison professor specializing in energy policy, said utilities need to start shutting down gas plants, and acquisitions like this cast doubt on the decarbonization goal. ambitious.
“We want to see less demand for gas-powered electricity rather than buying new,” says Nemet. “If we are trying to reduce emissions by 80% in the next eight years, then we should invest quickly and aggressively in clean energy and energy efficiency.”
MGE says it is seeking regulatory approval to buy 25-megawatt stake in Alliant Energy’s recently completed West Riverside 725 megawatt plant for about $25 million with the option to purchase an additional 25 megawatts.
According to the utility, additional capacity is required to replace the 211 megawatts share of the coal-fired Columbia Energy Center near Portage, which is scheduled to close in 2025, about 15 years earlier than originally planned. head.
The $670 million plant in Beloit is Wisconsin’s newest gas-fired power plant and second largest.
Regulators have approved MGE’s investment of more than $80 million in new 59-megawatt wind and solar projects that are expected to come online over the next two years and are currently evaluating the projects. proposed investment of approximately $152 million in solar and battery storage projects that would provide an additional 110 megawatts. of capacity.
MGE also owns about 100 megawatts of a stake in the Elm Road coal plant in Oak Creek, which We Energies plans to convert to burning all natural gas by 2035.
Natural gas emits almost half as much carbon dioxide as coal and a fraction of pollutants like sulfur and mercury. But its production and transport leads to the release of methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas, which loses most of its environmental advantages.
Last year, a United Nations panel of scientists reported unprecedented changes to the global climate as a direct result of human activity and warned that greenhouse gas emissions must be eliminated virtually by 2050 to avoid the most dire outcomes.
To that end, the International Energy Agency says new investments in fossil fuel supply projects must stop immediately.
The proposed 2,400-acre Koshkonong Solar Farm highlights tensions as Wisconsin utilities seek to replace coal-fired power with clean energy.
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